


In the Night

by Startswithgoodbye



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2020-12-24 22:00:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 38,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21106679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Startswithgoodbye/pseuds/Startswithgoodbye
Summary: When Mal's life changes in a matter of minutes, her friends must save her from herself. Will she succumb to the trauma or will Ben, Evie, Carlos, and Jay help?





	1. Chapter 1

“Come on, Mal, you’ve been missing for weeks now. The others are worried, the pirates are taking over parts of our territory, and your mother is going off on anyone that is associated with you.” It was Evie’s voice that broke through the darkness. “Mal, come on, please.” She begged again. 

Mal had been missing for over three weeks now and it was the first time anyone had found her. While the Isle wasn’t very big, there were many nooks and crannies that provided an escape and cover for anyone that wanted to be alone. 

“I’m not leaving until you come out.” It was Mal’s turn to sigh. She knew how stubborn Evie was when she had her mind on what she wanted. “I brought you some food. No one has seen you, or claims that they’ve seen you in three weeks. Please just open the door.”

“Evie, please,” Mal’s voice broke. She knew Evie was right about no one claiming they’ve seen her. She was still the leader of the gang and even though she’d go missing, she still invoked fear into everyone. Enough for them to lie about seeing her scavenge for food. The only thing Evie had been wrong about was the time frame. It had been three weeks, five days, seventeen hours, and twenty-three minutes since she’d seen her friends.

“Mal,” Evie felt her heart break at the sound of Mal’s voice. “Just let me in.” I need to see that you are okay at least. I’ll leave after, if that’s truly what you want. I need to see for myself that you are okay.” Evie didn’t care that she was pleading right then. She wanted, no needed, to make sure her best friend was at least in one piece. 

Mal knew that there was no use in arguing. She didn’t want Evie to expose her hiding place and the only way to be sure of that was to let the girl into the crowded space. “Are you alone?” Mal had to ask. She was about to completely expose herself for the first time since, well since everything changed. 

“Yes, it’s just me.” Evie sighed in relief. 

“Come quickly,” Mal moved the rotting dresser away from the door and stepped once again back into the shadows of the room. Once Evie stepped into the room, Mal rushed to place the dresser back into place. “I’m fine. See?” Mal made a quick motion to her body before moving back into the shadows. 

“Mal, what happened?” Evie had only seen Mal for a second in the small amount of light, but she knew she was recovering from a beating. “Was it your mother?” Evie knew that Maleficent wasn’t the best mother around. In fact, she was arguably the worst. Maleficent had left more damage on Mal’s body than anyone could count, but even on the worst days, Mal hadn’t hidden away.

“No,” Mal felt her arms reach around and hug herself. She was shrinking into herself.

“Mal, what happened?” Evie asked once again. She had never seen her friend like this. She could see the outline of the shell of her best friend start to shrink inside of itself. 

“You’ve seen me, I’m in once piece, and I’m fine. Can you please just leave now?” Mal was becoming desperate. She didn’t know how much longer she would last before breaking down to Evie. After all, Evie was her best friend. 

“No, you aren’t.” Evie was becoming defensive. She would kill for her friends and she wanted whoever hurt her best friend to pay. 

Mal’s eyes darted back and forth. Evie could tell she was fighting her brain about something. “I can’t right now, please, Evie.” Mal begged. She had spent the last days reliving the events; she couldn’t say the words aloud. She didn’t want to fully admit what happened. Not yet, at least.

“Fine,” Evie threw her vibrant blue hair over her shoulder. She was never one to force someone to talk, not right away. “Just come back to the hideout with me.” Evie tried. She knew it was a long shot, but things were happening on the Isle that weren’t good and they needed their fearless leader. 

“I can’t, Evie, I just can’t.” Mal sighed in defeat. She needed to stay where she was, possibly forever. “Tell me something good.” Mal closed her eyes. She needed hope. She needed something to get her mind off of everything. 

“Oh!” Evie burst out. The sudden loud noise caused Mal to shrink back. “I almost forgot, your mom has been on a rampage. Beating everyone, literally, that has had contact with you.” Evie winced as she remembered the punches and kicks she received. Mal frowned at the sight of Evie remembering something. “There is news; four of us have been chosen to go to Auradon Prep as transfer students, to fulfill a decree made by the Prince.” Evie smiled. She had always dreamed of going over the ocean to live among princes.

“When would we leave?” Evie’s eyes widened at the question. She had fully expected Mal to throw a fit about having to go live among the prissy princes and princesses.

“Tomorrow, 6 am,” Evie had spent the last three weeks searching for Mal, but she was more determined after the letter was received. She couldn’t, no she wouldn’t, leave Mal here to fend for herself. 

Mal chewed on her bottom lip. She had two options and she wasn’t sure which one was worse. She could stay here, hiding for the foreseeable future, or she could escape her demons on the Isle and move to the mainland. “Okay,” She said quietly. “But you have to promise me something.” 

“Anything,” Evie promised. 

“You have to promise me, I won’t run into anyone on the way out.” Mal knew the request was ridiculous. She didn’t want to take chances though. 

“We have seven hours until we meet the car. Will you please come to the hideout now and then we can figure out a way to make that happen?” Evie knew that the car was meeting them close to the hideout and she knew that the boys would help her smuggle Mal out. 

“Okay,” Mal kept telling herself that she could do this. It was only seven hours. How much more damage could be done? Mal shuddered at the thought. After all, it took sixteen minutes and thirty four seconds for her life to change. “Before we go, Evie, I need to tell you something.” 

“Mal, you know you can tell me anything.” Evie reassured. She tried to put a hand on Mal’s arm but quickly retracted it after seeing her flinch. “What happened?”

“Evie, I think I could be…I think I am...Evie, I might be pregnant.” Mal could hear Evie’s breathing hitch. Out of everything bad that Evie thought of, this was the one thing that never crossed her mind. “I don’t know what to do.” Mal finally broke down. She felt the tears flowing out of her eyes. “Evie, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to.” Mal kept repeating as she fell onto the ground. 

“Mal, you don’t mean…” Evie trailed off. She didn’t want to be right, but it made sense now. She felt the tears leak out of her eyes and trail down her face. “Mal, why didn’t you tell me?” Evie couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt. She was Mal’s confidant.

“Please don’t tell anyone.” Mal knew what she had to do once she left her safe space. She needed to pretend that nothing happened. She needed to pretend that her life wasn’t in shambles. “I’ll be okay. I’m strong enough.” Evie didn’t know who Mal was trying to convince more, herself or Evie, but she knew that Mal would just retreat into herself if she didn’t have someone on her side. 

“I won’t, I promise. We’ll get through this.” Evie had already made up her mind. She would be there every step of the way. “But, Mal, what are you going to do about going to Auradon?” Evie had momentarily forgotten about that small fact. 

“I’ll deal with that when it comes to that.” Mal nodded to herself. There was no point in trying for the future. She just needed to escape the Isle. “Are you ready to go to the hideout?” Mal had asked suddenly. 

“Of course, do you want to go before or after me?” Evie knew to play this however Mal wanted to play this. 

“I can’t show weakness, can I?” Mal sighed and moved to the dresser. “Ready or not, here I come.” Mal whispered. The walk to the hideout didn’t take more than seven minutes, but it was seven minutes that Mal was complete exposed. She could hear the words of encouragement from Evie behind her, but she couldn’t help the fear spreading in her body. 

“Three more hours,” Evie whispered to Mal before she threw the rock at the sign. Mal blinked. Three hours? The last she’d known it was seven hours. Had they really been talking for four hours? She shook her head. Time had escaped Mal more times than she could count in the last three weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

“Boys?” Evie questioned when she entered into the hideout. She had hoped that they were back from their search for the missing girl. Mal flinched at the loud noise coming from the other side of the hide out. 

“Did you find her?” Carlos asked, well yelled, before he came into view. Thankfully, Evie was too worried about finding the boys to notice Mal’s slip up.

“I’m right here, knuckleheads.” Mal spoke up. Evie looked back at her in shock. Hours before coming her, Mal had been distant. Mal gave Evie a pointed look as if to remind her about the promise. Evie nodded her head in Mal’s direction and moved to her side of the space.

“No need to worry about Mal anymore. She’s here.” Evie flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged nonchalantly. “Please tell me you’ve packed. If we want to make it off the island before our parents realize we are missing, we have to be up and ready to meet the car before six tomorrow.” 

“Where have you been?” Jay questioned. He ignored Evie completely and crossed the room to face Mal directly. “It was three weeks. Do you know how much we had to deal with while you were gone? Are you even aware what your mother had put us through? She thought we were hiding you. Take a look at Evie; she took the most of it.” Jay was furious. Mal disappeared and allowed everyone around her take the fall for her actions. He missed the slight fear in her eyes as his voice raised louder. He missed the way her fingers shook in terror.

“Jay, cut it out. She’s here now.” Evie tried to diffuse the situation. She watched as Mal clenched her fists to stop the shaking. She noticed the change in Mal’s breathing. She saw the terror flash through Mal’s eyes. “Are you packed or not? I’ve packed everything that Mal and I need for the trip, but do you and Carlos have everything?” Evie was challenging Jay. 

“Yes,” Jay didn’t take his eyes off of Mal. He couldn’t contain his anger, not that he wanted to anyway. “So she just gets a pass? After everything you went through?” Jay wasn’t going to let this go. 

“Yes, Jay, I am. Maybe she had her reasons.” Evie said with conviction. She glanced sideways to see Mal’s confused expression. 

“What happened to you?” Mal was truly curious. She knew that Maleficent had taken out her anger on her friends, but she needed to know details. She knew it was counterproductive, but she needed to know the full extent of what happened in her absence. It was how she maintained the control. It also didn’t hurt to channel her fear and terror into anger for the people who hurt her friends.

“Nothing, now can we please drop it?” Evie begged. She knew exactly what Mal was doing and Evie didn’t want to be the reason she buried her feelings and trauma until she exploded. Evie had watched Mal self-destruct too many times before this. 

“Oh, so now you care?” Jay spoke out. “Well, if you want to know so badly, why don’t I just enlighten you?” Jay spoke with malice. “Maleficent couldn’t find you, so she gathered all of our parents first. She questioned them first, but realized that they were as clueless as she was. She ordered them to call for us next. She hadn’t realized that we had already been on the search for you for days before. You were missing for four days before she realized.” Jay threw the last part in as a jab at Mal’s self-esteem. He knew that all of her life, Mal only wanted to make her mother proud. It was why she continuously took the beatings and went back. 

“Jay, just drop it.” Evie tried to stop Jay from telling Mal everything. After what Mal had gone through, she didn’t think her small problem was worth the anger that radiated off the girl. 

“No, Evie!” Jay yelled. He was tired of being interrupted. “She asked.” He turned back to Mal. “Evie was the first to enter the room with Maleficent. You know the one where she takes you when she needs to let you know how disappointed you make her.” Jay smirked as he saw Mal’s eyes flash green at the memory. Nothing good ever came from that room. “The only thing that I know for sure happened next was the blood curdling screams. I’m not sure how long it lasted, but when Evie finally emerged from the room, she was bloodied and bruised. Ask her to see her arms and torso.” Mal flicked her eyes in defeat at Evie. She hadn’t wanted her best friend to go through what was meant for her. Mal knew exactly what happened in that room. It was the same thing every time. Maleficent was nothing but predictable in the punishment department.

“I didn’t…” Mal trailed off. She didn’t want to want to appear weak in front of her friends, but she couldn’t take it anymore. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry,” She directed the statement to the group before opening her eyes. “I couldn’t be here. But I’m here now.” Mal said with conviction. “Now can we please move on?” She had hoped it would be that easy, but life on the Isle was everything but that.

“No, where were you?” Jay demanded once more. He crossed his arms across his chest and challenged Mal with his eyes. 

“I can’t tell you right now.” Mal looked down. She didn’t want this to happen. She wanted to escape the demons, not confront them. “Eventually, I will, but right now…right now, I just can’t.” She sighed in defeat. She glanced at Jay and watched his posture deflate. He knew that something was seriously wrong.

“Fine,” Jay nodded to Mal and moved to the corner of the room. “To answer your question, yes we are packed, have been for days.” Jay nodded to the bags in the room. 

“Great, we have less than two hours, is there anyone you want to say goodbye to before we leave?” Evie knew that they only really had each other in the long run. Of course, she said goodbye to Dizzy before today, but she was the only one attached to another person on the Isle. 

“No, I think we are good.” Carlos spoke up. He was known for being the silent one of the group. It wasn’t that he was shy; he was very sociable once he was completely comfortable around people. It was just that he was constantly plotting something or another. “Do you want to try to sleep?” He pointed the question at Mal. He noticed the little things that had changed in the girl. It wasn’t much, but he noticed the looks in her eyes and the bags under her eyes. 

“No,” Mal nearly yelled out. She cleared her throat and tried to speak again. “No, I’m good. Plus, we wouldn’t want to oversleep.” Mal didn’t want them to know about her reoccurring nightmares of the attack. It was always the same. The masked man, the cold blade, and the chilling voice invaded her sleep every time she managed to close her eyes for even a minute. 

“She’s right.” Evie looked at the clock. She was known for sleeping through nearly everything. It was both a blessing and a curse in the Isle. 

“I’m just going to sit down until the car comes.” Mal said abruptly and moved over to the couch on her side of the room. She could feel eyes of her friends on her but she didn’t care, she was too far gone in her thoughts. 

“Evie, what the hell,” Jay whispered to Evie. He knew that she knew more than she was letting on. She shook her head as the tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. He growled in frustration and rolled his eyes. “Fine, don’t tell me. See if I care.” 

“Jay, just please be gentle with her. If you knew, you’d understand, but she has to be the one to tell you. I can’t break the promise. Not now when she needs trust.” Evie narrowed her gaze at him. He put his hands up in defeat and dropped the conversation.

“Whatever,” Jay huffed and the group fell into an uncomfortable silence. 

“Why were we chosen?” Carlos spoke up. He was not one to complain escaping his mother but he was curious as to why they were the lucky ones. 

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out shortly.” Evie shrugged and looked at the cracked clock on the wall. “I guess we should head down, yeah?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she walked over to the distant Mal. “Hey, Mal, it’s time to leave,” She tried to break Mal from her thoughts before touching her. When she noticed Mal was making no connection to the world around her, she sighed and moved her hand to touch her. 

“No!” Mal yelled and moved as far away as she could from the hand. “Please,” Mal begged and looked wildly around. 

“Mal, it’s just me. It’s Evie.” Evie tried to diffuse the situation before the others got involved. “Come on; don’t make me get the others involved.” Evie glanced over to the others and noticed the worried expressions on their faces. Mal followed her eyes and gasped out a breath before composing herself once more.

“I’m sorry,” Mal looked genuine for a moment before her walls went back up. “I’m fine, let’s go.” She stood up and brushed herself off. Mal walked over to the doorway and looked back at the stunned expressions on the faces of her friends. “Well?” She raised an eyebrow and turned her back to them again. She walked out the door and held her head up.  
Evie, Jay, and Carlos exchanged looks and followed their leader out the door. The four walked quietly through the empty streets of the Isle. “It should be right here,” Carlos read over the letter once more before looking around the space. 

“Time?” Mal demanded and looked around the space for a different reason than the rest. 

“Three minutes until six.” Jay looked at the watch on his wrist. It was his favorite one that he’d stolen. 

“Perfect,” Evie said and placed the bags on the ground. She searched around in a circle before pointing at the headlights that lit up the roadway. “There the car is,” It was no secret   
that she was the most outwardly excited about going to Auradon, the land of possibilities, as she said many times before. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Mal muttered under her breath and handed her backpack to the driver. She looked over her shoulder once more and then slid into the car. 

“It’s going to be okay. Leave everything on the Isle, start over.” Evie whispered to her friend and squeezed her hand. 

“Easier said than done,” Mal placed a hand on her flat stomach and hoped that maybe once, she was wrong and her intuition was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn’t take nearly as long to get to Auradon as Mal had hoped. She was lost in her thoughts when the car jerked to a stop. She peeked out the window to see the greenery around her. It was a little after eight in the morning, but it was bright, too bright for her. “Gross,” she muttered and moved to open door after her friends. She felt her senses heightened at the amount of noise and people that waited for her at the school. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and moved to stand slightly in front of the other three. 

“Welcome!” A foreign voice greeted the four. Mal cringed internally and fixed her face. Mal looked around at the others and tuned out the new voice. She didn’t want to be surrounded. She could feel the hands running over her body. She could hear the noises he made in her ear. She could smell his scent invading her nose. She was getting lost into the thoughts again before she realized she was supposed to answer a question. 

“So, how about you just show four people where the bathroom is?” Mal hoped that she wasn’t drawing too much attention to herself. She winced at the slight chuckle that escaped the boy’s throat. She smiled tightly and gestured to the front of the building.

“Right yes,” The boy went to walk with a girl in tow. She glanced at Evie and shrugged. She didn’t catch this boy’s name nor did she know where the rest of the welcoming committee went. 

“Are you okay?” Evie questioned in Mal’s ear. She knew the answer, but she wanted to know if Mal would lie to her. She breathed out in relief when Mal shook her head slightly. Truthfully, Evie was scared that the dynamic of the group was going to change when they came over here. Sure it was her dream, but she would move mountains and stay in the same place forever for the people in her group. They were her family. “I’m right here.” She reminded Mal and reached for her hand to squeeze. 

“I know,” Mal flinched slightly at the contact and adjusted her hand to squeeze back. 

“I think you should consider telling Jay and Carlos,” Evie attempted to persuade Mal. She knew that she was going to need all the support she could get. 

“Okay,” Evie’s eyes widened when Mal agreed without a second thought. “I will tonight, okay, can we drop it and follow this kid.” Mal turned back to the boy leading her crew through the campus.

“Prince Ben.” Evie whispered and nodded her head to the boy. Mal nodded and tried to catch the end of the conversation.

“Oh, Doug! Come here,” Prince Ben motioned to another boy that was walking down the stairs. “Everyone, this is Doug. He’ll go over your class schedules and show you where your dorms are!” Jay looked between the newest addition to the conversation and Evie. He noticed the way that Doug was looking at his friend and a part of him was amused at the way Evie flirted with him, but another part, the protective brother part of him, wanted to stare down the boy. 

“Evie, Evil Queen’s daughter,” Evie knew exactly what she was doing. She was known on the Isle as the one who flirted but could never be contained. Mal rolled her eyes and walked behind Doug. The sooner she could get away from human interaction, the better.

“So, I’ve got your schedules,” Doug cleared his throat and tried to speak about requirements as Mal threw a wrapped on the floor.

“Come on, let’s go find our dorms,” Mal jumped and started to move to the stairs closest to the group. 

“Actually, your dorms are that way,” Doug corrected her and pointed to the far staircase. 

“Of course,” Mal muttered to herself and turned to walk back in the other direction. She listened to the footsteps behind her. She could tell the familiar steps that belonged to her friends. It was the first time that she didn’t freeze or stutter her steps. She walked down the hallways, head held high, until she reached number 13 on the door. “Well, this is our room.” She motioned to the door. “Number 19 is yours,” She handed the boys a set of room keys and went to unlock hers. 

“Alright, I’m going to go get a shower, I heard they don’t have sludge in their water lines,” Carlos was excited. Mal’s shoulders moved with her breathing drastically before she turned around slowly.

“Actually, can I tell you guys something? Will you come in?” Mal wasn’t going to fight them on the issue if they decided against coming in. She looked over at Evie who nodded her head with a pointed look on her face. Mal knew she wasn’t going to drop the issue. 

“Yeah, of course,” Jay was the one who answered. He knew when it was time to be serious. The boys followed Mal into the room with Evie behind him. Mal sat on one of the beds covered in a pink quilt. They all watched her flinch and shifted her eyes around the room. “Mal?” 

“It’s about why I went missing for so long,” Mal began. She didn’t want to talk about this. Not here. Not when she wanted her demons to stay on the Isle. She looked up at each one of her friends’ faces. She didn’t want the way they thought of her to change. She needed stability. “Do you remember the Tuesday night that I left after the argument with Uma?” She needed them to know where her head was. “I walked back from the pirates’ territory alone and I took a left to go to the east side of the Isle. I just didn’t want to lash out at you guys.” Mal was ashamed. She tried to stall for as long as possible.

“Mal, come on, you can tell us anything.” Carlos coaxed her. He knew what types of things the east side was known for, but he wasn’t one to jump to conclusions. He needed all the facts. 

“I was alone, I wasn’t thinking. I went to the alley to mark my territory. I just wanted to make a small tag and move on with my life. I heard footsteps behind me. I didn’t register the closeness of the person until it was too late. I was held down. I didn’t want to. I fought the entire time.” Mal refused to break down. She had cried enough since the attack. 

“Hey, Mal, it’s okay,” Jay was surprisingly gentle with the fragile girl in front of them. “Tell us what you need. Anything you need, we are there.” Jay had spoken for the group but they didn’t mind. They all nodded in unison. 

“There is another thing. I’m late. I haven’t taken a test, I’m not ready to face the truth, but I think…I could be…guys, I might be pregnant.” She knew that the statement was premature, but she didn’t want to lie to them. She wanted to lay everything on the table. 

“I’ll kill him.” Jay vowed before bending down to eye level with Mal.

“We’re right beside you.” Carlos promised and walked behind the bed. Mal leaned back against Carlos’s body. She nodded and stared into space. 

“Knock knock,” Jay glared at the door while Evie went to open the door. “I was wondering if you needed anything,” It was Prince Ben again. 

“Well considering that we just left you less than an hour ago,” Evie shrugged. She could feel the mood of the room shift. She closed her eyes and opened the door up to reveal the rest of the group. “Guys, do you need anything?” Ben took in each one of the faces. He could tell something was off, but he didn’t know them well enough to approach the subject.

“Right, well, if you need anything, my dorm is on the other side of the building, number 716.” Ben pointed down the hallway. He knew that none of the new comers were looking in the direction, but it didn’t hurt. 

“Thanks,” Mal muttered and focused her eyes out the window. “Anything else?” She was being rude, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to be around people right now. 

“Um, well there is a picnic today at two in the courtyard, if you are interested.” Ben tried to get the kids to jump straight into the festivities that the new school year brought. 

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think we all just need some time to ourselves,” Jay left no room for arguments. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we would like to get settled in.” Jay walked towards the prince in an effort to push him out the door. 

“Oh, okay, well I’ll see you around.” Ben waved to the group slightly when the door was closing. 

“Are you okay?” Carlos asked Mal. Realistically, he knew that she was far from it, but he also knew that no one person was every completely certain of what Mal was thinking.

“Yeah, I just want to be alone,” Mal knew she was being unfair. After all, she had three weeks of alone time, but she didn’t care. She wanted a shower, a real shower, to rinse of the phantom hands she felt caressing her body. 

“Mal…” Evie trailed off. She had watched a villager succumb to her depression before. She watched as the woman caved into her mind. “Please, let’s just do something, anything, together.” Mal knew she was right. She knew what the other girl was thinking, but this was her opportunity to finally feel clean.

“I just want to take a shower. I’ll come right out after.” Mal promised before waltzing into the bathroom and shutting the door softly. 

“We’re with you, Mal,” Evie promised through the door. Evie sighed and sat on the bed with her head in her hands. “What are we going to do?” She muttered to the boys. 

“We just take it day by day. We don’t let her fall.” Carlos spoke with conviction. 

“What if we aren’t good enough?” Not being good enough was Evie’s biggest fear. She was never enough for her mother in any sense. 

“We have to be,” Jay told her and placed a hand on her back. “Failing isn’t an option. We have too much to lose.” He knew that his friend in the bathroom was single handedly the strongest person he knew. He looked to the door, hoping for a sign that everything would be okay in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

Mal regretted walking into the bathroom the second she saw a floor length mirror. She studied her reflection, taking in the sight in front of her. She didn’t recognize the hollow eyes that stared at her. She picked up her knotted purple hair and dropped it against her shoulder. She didn’t want to be there. She honestly had no idea where she wanted to be, but the colors and the brightness of the mainland was haunting her. It was dangling hope in front of her. “You won’t be here for long,” she told herself. She was tainted by a man’s touch. She was damaged beyond repair and she didn’t fit in with the perfect world around her. Mal sighed and moved away from her reflection. She turned to the shower and squinted at the knobs in the shower. She had never been in a shower with more than one option, so she was a bit confused. She chewed on her bottom lip and reached for the right knob. The water that blasted out of the faucet was hot, extremely hot. Mal smirked to herself; it was the first time she would be able to take a hot shower. To say the water slightly burned Mal’s skin was an understatement. It scorched her top layer of skin off, but Mal wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t enough in her mind. She needed to scrub the rest of him off of her. 

“Mal, are you okay? You’ve been in there for a while now,” Evie’s patient voice echoed through the bathroom. She hadn’t been in there for that long, had she? She looked down at her body and grimaced at the sight. Her once pale body was now completely red from head to toe. Her bruises were under a layer of blood from the scrubbing she did on her body.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Mal choked out. She was anything but fine. She had stood in the bath tub for who knows how long and tortured her skin to the point of cuts. 

“Please come out,” Evie knew that something was wrong. She had known the girl for far too long to ignore the slight pain in her voice. “Or let me come in,” Evie knew that giving Mal two options would help her get her way. 

“I’ll be out in a second,” Mal breathed. She didn’t want to be seen like this. This was worse than having shame written all over her body. She slowly turned off the now cold water. She knew that eventually she was going to deal with this, but today was not that day. Truth be told, she was exhausted. She wanted to sleep for days, weeks even, but her mind didn’t allow that. Mal placed the outfit she had brought into the room with her on and moved to the door, completely ignoring the mirror to her right. 

“Thank you,” Jay said when she opened the door. “Three more seconds and I was going to knock the door down.” He was serious and she knew that. 

“No need, macho man,” Mal tried to joke but her smile was more so a grimace. Jay shrugged his shoulders and moved to the bed Evie had claimed. 

“What’s the plan for today?” Carlos looked to Mal. Sure, she wasn’t the same, but that didn’t stop him from looking to her for her advice. She was the smartest person he knew.

“Well, whatever you want to do, I suppose.” Mal shrugged. She didn’t have the energy to keep track of everyone right now. He stomach was turning and her head was pounding. 

“Let’s go get some food,” Jay suggested. He wasn’t sure when the last time any of them had eaten; after all, the Isle was notorious for the lack of food. Mal shook her head at him. There was no way she was going to go back into the hallway with all of the preppy people. “When is the last time you had more than a rotten fruit or a soggy piece of bread?” Jay looked at her pointedly. He knew she wasn’t sure of the answer. She sighed in defeat and looked towards the door. She didn’t know if she could be strong enough to handle this constant strong face out there. “We’re with you, Mal.” He told her with no doubt in his voice.

“Lead the way,” Evie knew that Mal would want to be at the head of the group. It was where she was strongest. “Do you remember where the café signs were?” She glanced just in time for Mal to nod her head and then go in the direction of the main hall. 

Mal didn’t know what to say to the constant stares as they walked. They were different. They were foreigners. They had the powers to attack innocent people and yet here they were, being stared at like animals in the zoo. Mal wanted to growl at the people. She wanted to instill fear in their hearts, but she didn’t want to ruin this for her friends. She wanted to blend in.

“This way,” Mal turned her head slightly to acknowledge the group behind her. “Oomph,” She grunted as she ran into a solid body ahead of her. She tensed slightly and whipped her head back to the front. 

“You decided to come out, that’s great! Although the actual picnic doesn’t start for a couple more hours,” It was Prince Ben. Mal rolled her eyes at the cheerful tone of his voice. 

“Nope, sorry, just came to get some real food for once,” Mal didn’t know that her words had stunned Ben for a second. She didn’t think anything of them, but apparently that’s all he had thought about.

“I’m really sorry about all of that,” Ben looked down. It was the first time that his voice didn’t annoy Mal for being too cheerful. Instead, it annoyed her because he sounded like he cared. Mal scoffed. She wasn’t going to let the person in front of her care about them all of a sudden, not after sixteen years of pure agony.

“Yea, well I’m sure you are,” Mal rolled her eyes. “Now if you will excuse us, we are famished.” Mal tried to move around him, but Ben was too fast for her. 

“Please, come today.” Ben pleaded. He gave his best puppy dog eyes and motioned to the small clearing in the center of campus. “It’ll be fun and it’s a chance to introduce yourselves. A chance to meet new friends.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Mal tried to just blow him off again. This boy was seriously not one to be told no.

“Actually, can we?” It was Carlos who spoke up. Mal glared back at him while he shrugged. He needed to know what they were actually getting into before starting school.

“That’s a great idea, Carlos!” Ben spoke up. He acted like it was the smaller boy’s idea which made Mal fume. She didn’t want to be tricked into doing things here. She just wanted to blend in and lose herself in the process. 

“Yeah, just a fantastic idea,” Mal had sarcasm dripping off her tongue. Carlos shrunk back slightly at the tone Mal used. He knew he made a mistake, but he had a plan. 

“Let’s go, you can help set up!” Ben led the way to the court yard. “There are a few people on the decorating committee already here.” Ben spoke animatedly.   
“Hey, Ben!” The villains heard a couple of girls call in unison.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” It was the first time in the short period they’d been there that they had heard the sarcasm on the mainland.

“Sorry, I picked up some more people to help us.” Ben nudged Mal’s shoulder causing her to tense and glare at the boy. “This is Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay.” He pointed to each of the people beside him when he mentioned their names. “Guys, this is Lonnie, Jane, and Audrey.” He motioned to each of the girls in front of him. 

“Great,” Mal noticed Audrey mutter under her breath. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mal challenged to girl. She wasn’t here to be talked to like an imbecile. It wasn’t in her DNA. After all, her mother was the Mistress of All Evil. 

“Oh nothing, just wondering what a bunch of villains is doing here is all.” Audrey shrugged. This was her domain and she wasn’t about to let the daughter of family’s enemy step in and control it. 

“Audrey, that’s enough,” Ben tried to step in and diffuse the situation, but Mal wasn’t about to let that happen. 

“Oh, are you afraid?” Mal felt her eyes glow the bright green, the same shade her mother’s eyes were. Mal scowled at the girl, refusing to break down.

“Are you threatening me?” Audrey scoffed in disbelief. “Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Audrey smirked at Evie. “I guess they are just like their parents. Can’t we send them back to there? I’m sure they’ll do just fine with them.” 

“You have no idea what you are talking about.” Evie wasn’t about to go down without a fight. 

“Oh please, you don’t belong here.” Audrey countered. “They were brought up to be just like their parents.” She sneered.

“Oh, yes, our parents were great role models.” Mal mocked and rolled her eyes. “You know what; I’m going back to the room.”

“Mal, wait up!” Ben called out while she stormed away. His decree was supposed to be a good thing. He was going to mend things. “I’m going to go after her. I’ll be right back.” He glared at Audrey and took off in Mal’s direction.

“Wait, no, Ben, don’t sneak up on her!” Jay called out, but it was too late. Ben was already nearing the girl as she stomped away. 

“This can’t go over well,” Carlos said what everyone was thinking. In a matter of seconds after Ben tapped Mal’s shoulder, he was on the ground, pinned beneath her. 

“Come on,” Evie, Jay and Carlos took off in a sprint to the girl. There was no telling what she would do to him.   
“Mal!” Evie shouted. She could see the glazed over look in Mal’s eyes. She could practically see the flashbacks running through Mal’s mind. “Easy, it’s just Ben. You are in Auradon. You are safe here.” Evie ignored the look of panic and confusion in Ben’s eyes. She didn’t have time to explain to him what was going through Mal’s mind. She just didn’t want Mal to kill him.

Mal shook her head to physically remove the memory. “Sorry,” She muttered and released the death grip on his shirt. “I have to go,” Mal muttered to no one in particular and sprinted off back to the dorms. 

“Let her go,” Jay grabbed Ben’s arm to restrain him from following her. “Let her cool off,” Jay released his arm when he was sure that he wouldn’t follow Mal. 

“What was that all about?” Ben asked. He watched the group in front of them exchange looks and shrug together. 

“I told you, Ben, they are just like their parents,” Audrey told him before she stormed off. No one was sure how long the three girls were standing there, but the three villains knew that nothing good was going to come out of it.


	5. Chapter 5

“Back off, Audrey,” Ben defended the four. The whole point of the decree was to mend fences. It was to prove to the world that the children of the Isle were innocent. 

“No, Ben, you need to listen to me.” Audrey didn’t care about the three villains behind her. She didn’t care at that point how dangerous they were. She needed to stand up for something she believed in. “Just because the villain in your parents’ story turned out to be good, doesn’t mean that they are. The Evil fairy of my mother’s story was just the evil fairy. You know, the purple one’s mother. They weren’t raised to the same standards that are expected here. Don’t you see that? They don’t know how to be good. They were groomed by their parents, day in and day out, to be evil.” Audrey huffed. She was tired of her opinion getting thrown away. 

“You don’t know what we dealt with on the Isle,” Evie stood up for her friends. She wasn’t about to tell the world what happened in detail, but she wasn’t going to let them think that it was a joyous occasion over there. 

“Please, Princes,” Audrey spat the word in Evie’s face. “I know plenty from the way that Ben, you know our Prince, was treated. You four have always gotten your way. It’s obvious by the way you all prance around. You can’t take any criticism. You think you are better than everyone. I see it in the stares you give to the people here.” She sneered. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you would love to clear your conscious and think that locking us on that Isle was the best thing for us. You think everything is as perfect there as it is over there. You are wrong.” Carlos shocked everyone with his outburst. Normally, he was the only one of the four that kept his mouth shut in a verbal argument. He was better at sword fighting that using his words to attack. “You know what, Mal was right, we shouldn’t have come.” He looked to Evie and Jay. He should have trusted Mal’s distrust of the event. 

“No, guys come on,” Ben tried to get them to stay. He had already struck out with one, he wasn’t about to lose the others. 

“Carlos is right, Ben, we aren’t wanted here. That’s obvious. We’ll see you around.” Evie tried to be as polite as she could. She was raise to bow down to princes and even though she was far away from her mother, she didn’t want to face the wrath if she ever caught her. 

“Run away, that’s it, at least your parents stayed to fight.” Audrey laughed to herself. Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked over their shoulders to glare directly at the girl before walking away to find their friend. 

“Where do you think she went to?” Jay asked. He had an idea that she was back at the dorm, but it was also the same Mal who had hid from them for over three weeks.

“We’ll check the dorm first. She did run in that direction. If she’s not there, we’ll look around. There aren’t too many places to hide,” Evie wanted to remain positive. Mal wasn’t going to hide anymore, not from them. They were all in this predicament together. 

The walk to the dorms was filled with an uneasy silence. They had been there for a little over three hours and they were already outcasts without a second glance. A million things running through each of their heads, but one thought was certain. They couldn’t go back to the Isle. They wouldn’t survive. Evie looked worriedly at the boys and knocked slightly on her dorm door. She didn’t want to startle the girl if she was inside.

“I’m here,” Mal’s voice echoed behind the door. Evie opened the door and the relief was evident on her face. “I told you, no more running from you.” Mal told them with a promise. “I just needed to get away.” The three others nodded their heads at her. “So, you didn’t stay for the picnic?” Mal was slightly shocked to see them back so soon. 

“No, Audrey’s a bitch,” Carlos shrugged and flopped on Evie’s bed. It was an unspoken agreement to allow Mal to have her bed untouched by anyone who wasn’t her. 

“Okay, so what are we going to do with our time?” Mal was truly curious. She was so used to having her day planned by her mother. If she wasn’t stealing, she was breaking something or following a traitor of her mother. 

“I don’t know. I’ve never had this kind of freedom before.” Evie spoke unsurely of herself. If Evie wasn’t helping Mal in one way or another, she was going through her mother’s beauty routine.

“We could…uh…” Jay hadn’t known what to do either. He was constantly stealing something for his father’s store. 

“Can we go for a walk? I know you don’t want to go where the people are, but most of them should be in the courtyard by the time we are ready to leave.” Carlos pointed out. He was never one to stay in one place for very long. His mother could catch him if he stayed still. 

“Sure,” Mal looked out the window. She wasn’t one to stay out in the open on the Isle, but she needed to know her surroundings. She hated being unprepared for anything and if any of the Auradon kids wanted to pick a fight, then she would be ready. “Let’s give it one hour and then we can go. I think I saw some trails on the walk to the court yard, they have to lead somewhere.”

“Okay,” Carlos smiled to himself. He wasn’t used to getting his way with the group. Normally, his suggestions were discarded faster than he could say them.

“Can we talk about something serious for a second before we go?” Jay had a few questions nagging his mind since he discovered the truth behind the reason Mal went missing. “What are we going to do about the whole possibly baby?” Jay didn’t know how to put the question in a subtle way. 

“Mal, how do you want to play this?” Evie asked her. 

“I guess we’ll just take it one day at a time?” Mal shrugged. She didn’t know how to handle this situation. She honestly wasn’t even one hundred percent sure there was a situation. “I don’t want anyone knowing until I know for sure.” She nodded to herself. 

“How are we going to find out? It’s not like we can just go buy a test.” Carlos was always the voice of reason. Mal’s shoulders deflated. He was right. None of the four had any money and stealing wasn’t an option. They were all being closely monitored. 

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see?” Mal questioned herself more than anyone. “That’s all we can do at the moment. Just don’t mention it to anyone. I’ll work on getting my emotions under control. We can handle this.” Mal nodded her head at everyone. 

“Okay,” Evie didn’t want to worry the girl, but she knew that things were going to get worse before they were any better. It wasn’t a stab wound that could be patched up and then forgotten. This was something that hurt the brain and no one could reach Mal’s.

“Are you ready?” Mal glanced at the clock after a brief silence. The minute hand was approaching the next hour and she wanted to escape the conversation as much as she could. The four gathered at the door and moved to exit the room. “Remember, no attention, we are just creeping through the place.” Mal gave the same speech any time they left the hideout together. If it wasn’t a run in with a parent, it was a run in with an enemy and sometimes, they weren’t sure which was worse.

They walked down the hallway, hiding as best as they could in the open space when they heard footsteps. When Mal motioned that the coast was clear, they went back to creeping along. Once they reached the trails before the courtyard, Mal looked expectantly at Carlos. “Which one do you want to take?” Mal looked at the three different paths. 

“This one?” He pointed to the one on the far right. Mal nodded and took over leading the group. She paused when she could hear the music from the picnic. 

“I guess they started early?” Evie whispered to Jay who nodded his head at her. She went to turn around to go back to the beginning when she noticed Mal continuing on. “Mal, what are you doing?” She whisper yelled. Mal shushed her with one finger and moved forward. “They’ll catch us!” Evie didn’t want to be known as the ones who stalked their prey. 

“Evie, just shut up, okay?” Mal was annoyed. She never had to answer to her friends about the decisions she made. “We aren’t going to get caught. I think I hear Ben talking about us, but I can’t make it out with you jabbering in my ear.” Mal was right, she realized, when she moved a few more inches ahead. Ben was definitely talking about them.

“You don’t understand, Mom, there is something off about them.” Mal peered through the leaves at Ben and an older female. She was dressed in a knee length yellow dress and her short hair framed her face.

“Ben, I love you. I trust you. I just don’t know how this is going to play out,” The female talked. Mal was taken aback by the words spoken. She had never been told those words without it being in a negative context. 

“I know, I just don’t want to give up.” Ben was determined to make this work. If not for him, then for the kids who grew up doing whatever on the Isle, it was his duty for it to work.

“I know,” the female sighed before gasping. “Ben, what happened to your arm?” Mal tried to squint to see what she was referring to but she couldn’t see.

“Oh, I just fell and hit my wrist on something.” Ben shrugged. He wasn’t trying to draw any attention to his injury. He didn’t want to admit that one of the kids he brought off the Isle had already attacked him physically. Sure, it was his fault, but he wasn’t going to give them any more ammunition against them. 

“Be more careful. We can’t have a clumsy king.” The lady moved to kiss Ben’s forehead and walked in the other direction back to the picnic. 

Ben watched her leave before turning to the trees behind him. “You can come out now.” He spoke with kindness to the four carefully hidden in the trees.


	6. Chapter 6

Mal froze. She had been so sure that they would go undetected. She retraced their steps in her mind. She didn’t remember a single time a stick snapped or a leaf crunched. 

“I know you are there, you might as well come out so I don’t look like an idiot talking to the woods.” Ben chuckled.

“How?” Mal asked as she stepped out of the shadows. She knew to never underestimate a villain, but no one said anything about the heroes. 

“I inherited my father’s sense of hearing. I could hear the whispering a while back.” Mal turned to the trees to glare at where she left Evie. “What were you doing?” Ben was truly curious. He wasn’t one to come up with quick conclusions.

“Just walking around,” Mal shrugged and looked away from him for a moment. Ben took the short time to truly look at the girl in front of him. He noticed the way her hair was slightly unkempt as if she had just gotten a shower and brushed her hair, but nothing more. While he didn’t have a picture for reference of before she arrived, he thought her features were a bit sunken in. He could have blamed that on the lack of food as she mentioned before, but he could swear there was a slight flicker of something in her eyes. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he wanted to know the truth behind that look. 

“Okay,” Ben gestured to the music behind him, “Why don’t you join us? I mean you are already here.” He reasoned. 

“No thanks, I’d rather go back to the Isle,” Mal scoffed. If the others hadn’t known about the walls Mal was building, they would have been frightened by her attitude. “Plus, I don’t really think we are welcome here.” Ben noticed the flicker of emotion in Mal’s eyes again. 

“You are. I promise you are.” Ben reassured them. “It was just Audrey.” Ben winced using the name. Audrey was his girlfriend just a few weeks ago. She was bitter about the break up, Ben reassured himself. She didn’t mean the things she said. She would come around, they all would.

“Yeah, no thanks,” Carlos walked from the woods. He was actually enjoying himself just wandering around the campus. “I would much rather just walk around. I mean, we didn’t get much of a tour.” He shrugged. It wasn’t technically a lie. They had ditched Doug at the dorms before they were properly shown everything. Plus, he didn’t want Mal to lash out again being around everyone.

“Great, I’ll go with you.” Ben looked back to the court yard and moved close to Mal. Mal flinched at the sudden movement and glared at the prince. “Sorry for startling you,” He apologized but made no other movements. 

“You can’t leave everyone will wonder where you went. Once the find out that you were with us, they would assume that we kidnapped you or something.” Jay walked out the second he saw Mal flinch. He was the muscles of the group after all. 

“They’ll be okay without me for a little while.” Ben waved a hand in the direction of the people. “Let’s go, shall we?” He made no more attempts at moving towards Mal and walked directly to the path. “It’s either I go with you or you all come to the picnic with me.” He gave them an ultimatum and smiled when they all started walking behind him. “Evie,” Ben greeted her once he was close enough to see her. 

“Mal…” Evie looked behind Ben to her best friend. Mal shook her head and stomped by her to follow the prince. “Why won’t he just mind his business and leave us alone?” Evie whispered to Jay. She had heard Ben say something about having really good hearing, but he made no indication of hearing her. 

“He’s got something to prove. We are his charity case.” Jay was not one to take handouts. Even on the Isle, he would rather starve than to take food from anyone. Nothing came to them without a cost and he wasn’t sure if he could afford everything that was already given to him. “Once he proves his point, he’ll be just like the rest of them. He’ll leave us with nothing and forget until he wants to cash in on something.” 

Evie stuttered her steps. She couldn’t be just a charity case. If they returned her to the Isle, she would no doubt be dead within minutes. Her mother was already on the loose looking for her after she mistakenly mislabeled the beauty products. She was tired after searching for Mal the night before. She didn’t realize that she put her hair dye in her mother’s shampoo bottle. Evie heard the Evil Queen scream after washing her hair. She knew what was wrong when she saw the empty bottle of dye. Evie ran out the door and to the hideout within seconds in felt like. 

“Where did you go right then?” Jay asked her. Mal was obviously their main concern but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about the other girl. 

“Just remembering the day before we left,” Evie shrugged it off. Jay knew that she had angered her mother but he didn’t know how. Jay placed a hand on Evie’s shoulder and squeezed. Evie saw the silent promise behind Jay’s eyes. “Thanks,” She told him. She was truly grateful for the family she had built.

“Evie, what are we going to do about Mal?” Jay voice stopped her from going forward. “I’m talking about tonight and every night. She can hide from it in the daylight, but the night is a different story. It was already hard for her to deal with everything Maleficent put her through. How are we going to add another thing in the mix?” Jay was right. Mal was always worse for wear in the night. She felt the crushing defeat of disappointment from her mother. 

“I have no idea. I don’t know what’s going through her mind at any given moment. She’s all over the place with her emotions and I am deeply concerned that she’s going to explode.” Evie spoke her fear out for the first time since they arrived.  
“I know.” Jay sighed. He knew that Mal wasn’t one to deal with her emotions in a healthy way, but he wasn’t one to judge. None of the Isle kids knew how to maintain a healthy relationship with their emotions. “We just have to convince her that we are not the bad guys in this situation. We need to let her know that everything is okay and that she is safe for once in her life.” 

“Easier said than done,” Evie muttered. “We should probably catch up before they turn around. Mal isn’t a barrel of laughs when she gets impatient.” Evie chuckled as the memory of a seven year old Mal popped in her head. Mal was always a spit fire when it came to not getting what she wanted when she wanted. Jay laughed along with Evie and put his hand on her back to lead back to her to the others. 

“We’ll be okay.” Jay told her. He didn’t know how to keep that promise for once. He could keep the promise to them that they would survive, he had kept that promise for this long already, but okay and alive were two completely different things. Evie nodded to Jay and followed his lead.

“What do you think ice cream tastes like?” Evie changed the subject. Her heart couldn’t take much more sorrow at the moment. She needed to think about happy thoughts like the ones she used to dream about with Dizzy back on the Isle. She would teach Dizzy how to make jewelry and braid hair and their conversations would always consist of things about Auradon.

“How about we find out today?” Jay smiled. Sometimes he loved Evie’s sense of wonder. Mal was serious nearly all her life. In fact, Jay couldn’t pinpoint a time when Mal wasn’t completely serious in a situation. The light in Mal’s eyes dimmed with every passing day on the Isle. Carlos was quiet but intense. He could figure out a quick way to escape or set a trap in seconds. Evie never lost her childlike wonder. She was as excited about things as if she hadn’t been hurt in the past.

“Really?” Evie’s face lit up. She couldn’t wait to tell…she frowned slightly. “Dizzy should be here.” She ached for her friend back home. 

“Maybe if this works out, she’ll be with the next group to come over.” Jay knew it was empty words. He didn’t know how long they were even guaranteed to stay. 

“So this trail leads to the courtyard as you already know.” Ben’s voice broke through the heavy thoughts of Jay and Evie. “The one in the middle leads to the rose garden. It was built by my mother a few years after my father was crowned king.” Ben smiled at the group. “The one to the left leads to the enchanted lake.” He gestured to the other path. “We’ll go to the lake first. The view is absolutely breath taking.” Ben promised and led the group down the path. 

“So what’s so enchanted about it?” Mal spoke. She was weary about following a strange, prince or not, through an unfamiliar land. 

“It washes away magic.” Ben used the term like it was an everyday occurrence in Auradon. Mal looked ahead at the rock formations in front of her. While she was in awe at the beauty, she was also terrified by the water beneath them.

“Okay, that’s enough, let’s go back.” Mal went to turn back but slipped slightly on the rocks under her feet.

“Mal!” Jay yelled. He knew that he was way too far away from her at this point to catch her. Luckily Ben was in arms distance away from Mal and could easily hold her up until she regained her footing. 

“What do you say we go for a swim?” Ben asked everyone. He frowned when he saw everyone shake their heads against the idea. “Awe, why not?” He didn’t understand the true problem.

“Uh, we can’t swim.” Carlos knew the easiest and less messy excuse was the fact that none of them could swim. He didn’t want to have to explain the scars that he knew littered their skins.

“You can’t swim?” Ben was baffled. “But you live on an island.” He sounded like he couldn’t truly believe them.

“Yeah, with a barrier around it, remember?” Mal nodded her thanks to Carlos. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ben looked down. He didn’t want to offend any of them. “I can teach you how to swim! It can be your extracurricular you are required to take.” Ben offered. He didn’t give them a chance to decline before he started talking. “I’ll talk to Fairy Godmother about it now. We can start tomorrow!” Ben rushed away from the group. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He left the group to stir in their thoughts.

“There is no way we are doing that.” Evie spoke up after what seemed like a lifetime. Evie was the one with the least amount of scars. A prince wouldn’t want a lady who was battered; her mom drilled that into her head before she could talk. Mal on the other hand was covered from head to toe in scars. She arguably had endured the most abuse in her short life than any other kid on the Isle. 

“We’ll think of something.” Mal said to herself. She wasn’t about to let the others take pity on her. “Let’s go back to the dorms?” Mal looked at the sky. It was beginning to get dark and they didn’t want to be left out here for much longer. They didn’t know what was lurking in the darkness from them.

“Okay,” Carlos agreed aloud while Jay and Evie nodded their heads. “Lead the way, boss.” Mal laughed a little at the nickname she was given when she was six. “There’s that smile,” Carlos took a chance with his words. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, but he knew he wasn’t the only one thinking it. Mal just reached back and squeezed his hand. 

“Let’s just get tonight over with. We start school tomorrow.” Mal grimaced and started back down the path to the dorms. There was no way she was remotely ready to face the school day.


	7. Chapter 7

“Mal, you need to try and get some sleep.” Mal sighed. She knew Evie was right, but she didn’t want to close her eyes. “I’ll be right here the entire night.” After the walk back to the dorms, the boys went to their own dorm with a promise of returning first thing in the morning. 

“I know, E, I just can’t.” The day was finally catching up with Mal and she had no choice but to accept the defeat. “I don’t want to be reminded of everything over and over again.” Mal looked at the clock. It was only 8:47, but she was utterly exhausted.

“Do you want me call the boys back here? We can take turns keeping an eye out.” Evie didn’t know if she wanted them to come back for Mal or for herself. 

“Evie, I don’t need a babysitter.” Mal felt her eyes glow green for a second. She knew that Evie was just trying to help, but she didn’t want to bother anyone. Mal sighed when she saw the hurt expression on Evie’s face. “Look, I’m sorry; I know I’m all over the place. I just don’t want to worry them. I’m just going to double check the locks on the door and windows before we turn out the light.” Mal went to the window and tried to pull the bottom of it up. Once she was satisfied with the locking system on each of the windows, she walked to the door and jiggled the knob. “Okay, they are all locked.” Mal told Evie and got into the bed she claimed earlier in the day. “Would you be able to get the light?” Mal glanced at Evie. She was already wrapped securely in the blankets.

“Of course,” Evie moved to the door to the light switches. She turned them off and then moved to the lamp in the center of the room. 

“Um, E, maybe we could leave that one on?” Mal knew that nothing ever came from complete darkness. Evie nodded and moved back to her bed. “Good night, E,” Mal looked around the room once more before shutting her eyes. She chanted words of encouragement in her mind. She could do this.

“Good night, M,” Evie looked at her friend’s fleeting eyes and slowly closed her own. “You can do this.” Evie whispered before she let sleep wash over her.

“Mal! Mal! Come on, you need to wake up. You are safe. You are so safe right now.” Evie woke up to Mal’s screams. She couldn’t place where they were coming from when she first woke up. She panicked for a minute before her eyes focused on the thrashing girl in the bed next to her. “Mal, come on, you are going to wake up everyone in the building.” Evie didn’t know how to wake up the girl. She had been screaming and thrashing around in her bed. Mal’s eyes popped open at the sound of insistent knocking on the door. 

“No, no, no…” Mal jumped off the bed and crouched beside it. Evie could tell Mal had no idea where she was. 

“Ladies, is everything okay?” Evie’s eyes furrowed at the new voice. “If you don’t answer in thirty second, I’m going to open the door myself.” Evie was too worried about her friend to care about the consequences of not opening the door. 

“Mal, please,” Evie begged again. She glanced at the door, knowing that time was almost over. She knew that Mal wouldn’t want anyone to see her in this predicament, but she didn’t know what to do. 

“That’s it, I’m coming in.” Evie held her breath as the lock in the door slid away from the holding place. “What in the world is going on in here?” Evie stood up from the side of the bed. She hoped that maybe the lady would leave if she could pretend she was the only one in the room.

“Just lost my earring,” Evie shrugged off the lie. “Evie,” She held her hand out for the lady to shake and hopefully introduce herself. 

“Fairy Godmother,” The lady took Evie’s hand gently. “Now I know you don’t expect me to believe that all that screaming was because of a lost earring. Plus, I can see both of them in your ears now.” Fairy Godmother ticked her tongue. “Where is your dorm mate?” Evie cursed. She knew that any lie she could think of would be of no use. 

“She’s okay, I promise.” Evie tried to get Fairy Godmother to keep her eyes focused on her rather than Mal.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to see that for myself.” It took everything Evie had not to roll her eyes. “bippitidy, boppidity, what happened?” Evie felt the fear invade her eyes. How was she going to explain the fact that Mal was huddled in the corner, chanting ‘no’ over and over again? 

“She’s fine. It’s just a panic attack.” Evie tried to convince the lady. She felt herself getting defensive. She didn’t know this lady and she wasn’t about to allow her to scare her friend even more. “No! Don’t touch her!” Evie screamed at her when she saw the hand reach for Mal. “Can’t you see that she’s terrified? You’ll only make it worse.” Evie felt a protective rage fill her body. 

“Sweetheart, I’m just going to make sure she can breathe properly again. I promise I won’t do anything to harm her in any way.” Fairy Godmother tried to reassure Evie. When Evie nodded her consent, she turned her focus back to the huddled girl. “Mal, sweetheart, I need you to breathe with me. Can you do that?” Fairy Godmother was starting to worry about the girl. It was obvious that the girl was well into whatever flashback was taking over her mind. “Mal, come on, let go of the bad thoughts.” Fairy Godmother’s voice was soothing. “That’s it, sweet girl. You are in Auradon. You are safe.” Fairy Godmother reassured Mal as her eyes became less cloudy.

“Is she breathing okay?” Evie was worried about what was going to happen when Mal finally came to. 

“She’s slowly getting there. Just a few more breaths and she should be okay.” Fairy Godmother smiled back to Evie as they fell into a comfortable silence and listened to Mal’s breathing. 

“Who are you?” Mal’s voice broke the silence. “How did you get in here?” Mal’s walls were quickly going up as she glared at Evie. She couldn’t help but feel betrayed by her friend. How dare Evie call someone to help? 

“None of that now, I am Fairy Godmother, head mistress. Your friend didn’t let me in. I forced my way in when I heard the sound of screaming.” Fairy Godmother smiled to the guarded girl. “Now that we got that little bit of information out of the way, what had you screaming so loudly that I had to rush here after several calls?” Mal’s eyes widened. She didn’t know what to say to the lady. “Don’t try to lie to me.” She told Mal with a pointed look.

“Just a memory from life on the Isle,” Mal shrugged it off. If it was any other time, she would have laughed at the face of the woman in front of her. “Life on the Isle was just a wonderful experience, really.” Mal smirked still shaken by the memory.

“I’m so sorry, children.” Fairy Godmother looked down in shame. She had a small inkling that Isle life wasn’t the greatest, but by the screams of the terrified girl in front of her, she knew she was completely wrong. 

“Yeah, well, sorry didn’t do it, now did it?” Mal sneered. She was tired of the empty words of the people here. They had hurt her in more ways than one by leaving her over there to rot. 

“I don’t know what more to say,” It was very rare that the woman was at a loss for words. “Do you want to talk about it?” She offered a shoulder to lean on. 

“No, thanks,” Mal sat back on the bed. She itched to confined herself in a small space and forget the world for a little while. “I think we are going to go back to sleep, if you don’t mind.” Evie looked at Mal like she had three heads. After what Evie saw with Mal, she wasn’t sure she could sleep. 

“Alright, I’ll let you get some sleep.” Fairy Godmother looked unconvinced by Mal’s suggestion, but she couldn’t force them to open up to the person that created the barrier. 

“Evil dreams,” Mal smirked and waved as the lady walked out the door. She rolled her eyes at Evie in attempt to calm her nerves. “What time is it?” She couldn’t see the glowing numbers of the alarm clock from her position. 

“4:25,” Evie read the clock. “We have to be up in an hour and thirty-five minutes.” Evie knew that her beauty routine took over an hour to complete, but she didn’t want to make Mal wake up any earlier than she absolutely had to. 

“Great, this is just great,” Mal lay back against the bed again. “What are we supposed to do until then?” Evie shrugged but the reply was lost on her lips. How was she supposed to explain to her best friend that it killed her to see her in that position? How could she lie and pretend that Mal was completely fine with the boys came back soon?

“I don’t know. I’m going to get started on my face.” Evie knew that lying was the only option she had, but it still hurt. She hated lying to the ones she’d call her family.

“E…” Mal trailed off when she heard the tone in Evie’s voice. She could hear the hurt laced with anger from a mile away. She sighed in defeat when the bathroom door slammed shut, effectively placing a barrier between her friend and her. Mal didn’t know what to do anymore. She just hoped that the day at school would fly by so she could lock herself away again. 

“Knock knock,” Mal rolled her eyes at the familiar phrase from yesterday. She knew it was Carlos trying to mock the king. “Hey, Mal, where is Evie?” He questioned when he saw the empty bed. 

“Bathroom,” was all Mal offered before staring into space again.

“How was your night?” Jay asked. He could see the familiar dark circles under Mal’s eyes. It worried him to see her exhausted when he could do nothing to help. 

“Not great,” Mal had agreed before leaving the Isle that she wouldn’t lie to them anymore. She didn’t want to break her promise now.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jay didn’t let his shock show in his expression. He didn’t want to give Mal a reason to shut down again.

“Nightmare, well a flashback happened,” Mal sniffled a bit. She was trying to keep the tears at bay. 

“We met Fairy Godmother.” Evie mentioned as she waltzed out the door. “She heard the screams and came rushing in.” Evie left out what was said and the state Mal was in. she didn’t want to add insult to injury. 

“Oh great,” Jay said and peeked down at the piece of paper in his hand. “We have her first thing this morning, too.”

Mal groaned. She didn’t want to see the woman again. Mal grumbled a few choice words for the situation and gathered some things in her hands. “I’m going to take a shower before class,” She challenged everyone with her eyes to stop her. 

“Don’t take too long,” Evie reminded her and turned her head back to Jay. She could do this. She could pretend that her life was perfect. She would wear her mask. She would be fine.


	8. Chapter 8

“Good morning, children!” Fairy Godmother greeted the bunch with her positive attitude. “Take a seat at the two tables with the supplies on them and we can get started.” She gestured to the designated tables in the room. “I didn’t figure you would want to sit too close to the teacher.” She chuckled to herself at the joke. 

“Great, a morning person,” Mal sighed to herself. She couldn’t be bothered to put on a fake attitude. She couldn’t even be bothered to pretend she wasn’t miserable. 

“What was that, dear?” Mal cursed herself when she realized that she had spoken louder than she anticipated. 

“I just said good morning to you.” Mal lied smoothly. She found a seat and placed her head in her hands. Without looking up, she knew that Evie had sat down beside her.

“Oh, how are you feeling, dear?” Fairy Godmother looked at Mal’s posture. She felt her heart ache for the girl in the seat. She had found the girl huddled in a ball early in the morning. Mal grunted her answer without lifting her head. She didn’t want to look at the pity in the woman’s eyes. 

“I, for one, am so excited to learn about goodness.” Evie could feel the anxiety flowing off of her friend. Mal reached over to Evie’s hands under the table to express her gratitude for the girl. She never said the words thank you, but she did show it.

“Great! Let’s get started,” Fairy Godmother clapped her hands and focused on the questions on the board. “We’ll start with a few questions to test where you are with right and wrong.”

Mal toned out the woman. She knew right from wrong, they all did. They weren’t stupid after all. They were punished every time they did anything remotely good and they each had the scars to prove it. Mal shuddered at the string of flashbacks that took over her senses. She winced in pain as though she could still feel the heel of Maleficent’s shoe. She could never get things just right for her mother. Mal shook her head at the sound of the bell.

“Well, that’s all we have time for today. Why don’t you read the first prompt in the packet for tomorrow? We can discuss the possible outcomes of everything in class.” Fairy Godmother waved her good bye and turned to the board. 

“Where did you go?” Evie whispered to Mal when they were just out of hearing range. Mal shrugged her shoulders. She honestly had too much going through her head to pinpoint just one thing. 

“The Isle,” Mal answered after a moment. “Just remembering the creative ways Mother punished me.” Mal specified. 

“Yeah, well she can’t reach you here.” Evie reassured her. “What do we have next?” Evie turned her attention to Jay. “Anything has to be better than that class.” Evie unfortunately listened to the entire class.

“Well, it looks like you have chemistry.” Jay read the paper he had. 

“Maybe we could blow something up!” Evie’s face lit up. “What are you waiting for, let’s go!” Evie pulled on Mal’s arm. 

“Actually, Evie, you are the only one with chemistry. Carlos, you have safety rules for the internet. I have history. And Mal, you have Trig.” Jay grimaced. It was the beginning of the day on their first day and they were already being separated. He couldn’t be in four different places at once and he was utterly conflicted. “No, this isn’t right. I’m going to talk to Fairy Godmother. They can’t split us up like this.” Jay felt the anger towards everyone in administration. 

“No, Jay, if we argue against him, there is no telling what they would do.” Mal knew that complaining never led to anything good for them. “We will meet up after the class and head to lunch together.” Mal had already made up her mind. She wasn’t thrilled about being away from her friends, but she needed to prove to them that she was the same fearless leader here as she was on the Isle.

“Are you sure?” Evie was shocked at Mal’s sudden confidence. “Are you really sure?” Evie asked again after Mal nodded her head.

“She said she’s sure. Now can we please go so we aren’t late?” Carlos winked at Mal. He knew she was getting annoyed by the constant questions about her stability. Mal nodded and headed down the hallway to her class. She honestly had no idea where she was going, but she wasn’t going to ask one of the people staring at her. 

“Oompf,” Mal grunted as she landed on her back. She cursed herself for not paying attention to where she was going. 

“Oh my! Are you okay?” Mal recognized Ben’s voice immediately. Mal flinched at the sudden hand in her face. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Ben withdrew his hand quickly. He could tell by her eyes that she was guarded but he couldn’t help put find fear laced in her eyes. 

“You…you didn’t scare me.” Mal choked out. She could feel her chest tightening. She didn’t want to do this right now. She wanted to prove to everyone that she was okay. “I’m fine.” Mal pushed up on her elbows. 

“Oh, let me help you.” Ben was persistent with trying to help. He had a hero complexion that got under Mal’s skin. 

“I can get up myself.” She pushed his hands away. She moved to stand up and Ben took a couple of steps back so that he didn’t invade her space. Mal placed her hand on her head the second she stood up.

“Did you hit your head?” Ben winced along with Mal. Her head was pounding, but she wasn’t about to show weakness. 

“I’m good.” Mal removed her hand and stood up tall. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her. 

“Mal, you don’t look so good.” Ben looked at the swaying girl in front of him. “Mal!” He called out when she started to collapse. Ben was never one to panic, his life had never been chaotic, but looking down at the unconscious girl in his arm, he could feel his heart racing. Ben looked around the hallway for any sign of help. After a few seconds of contemplating on his next move, Ben realized that the infirmary was the only logical place to take the girl. He took off in a sprint towards the other side of the building. 

“Oh, Ben, how lovely to see you! What brings you here so early?” The school nurse greeted him without looking up. She was used to seeing the boy after Tourney practice.

“Hello, Martha, I have a slight emergency.” Ben raised the girl in his arms slightly before setting her on the bed. “She ran into me in the hallway before class, literally,” Ben chuckled to himself. “She must have smacked her head on the way down.” Ben explained and backed away from the bed to allow the nurse to work. 

“How long has she been out for?” She asked while she took the appropriate vitals. After checking the girl’s blood pressure, she hooked up a machine to monitor the girl’s heart rate.

“Not long, maybe six minutes,” Ben guessed by the clock on the wall. Martha nodded her head to him and continued to look at the machine blinking in front of her. “Is she going to be okay?” Ben asked and moved to get a better look at the girl. 

“She will be,” Martha reassured him. “You did the right thing by bringing her here.” She smiled at him. 

“Can I do anything?” He wasn’t used to feeling so helpless. He started pacing at the foot of the bed.

“No, dear, her vitals are all stable.” Martha informed him with a smile. “I just need to get a scan of her head to make sure there is nothing too serious and then just monitoring for the next day or so.” Martha moved around in a flurry, checking the knobs on the wheels to remove the brakes. She looked down just in time to see the girl scrunch her face. “Hello, dear one,” She spoke gently to prevent a worse headache.

“Where…” Mal trailed off, scared. Her eyes flickered around the room in a hurry. She didn’t remember what happened nor could she remember how she had gotten in the room she was in. Mal could hear a consistent beeping sound to her left but she didn’t bother with it. She couldn’t account for who knows how long of her life and that terrified her more than anything.

“Dear one, you hit her head. You are in the infirmary. Prince Ben carried you here. I just need to take you for a scan to see if there is any noticeable damage from your fall.” Martha tried to calm the girl. Her heart rate was dangerously high and she didn’t want to make the matter worse. “You need to calm down.” 

“Mal, come on, it’s okay.” Ben tried his hand at calming the girl. He felt helpless while she was unconscious but now he felt worse. He walked closer to the bed and grabbed Mal’s right hand and placed it on his chest. “Breathe with me.” He coaxed. She was tense. He could tell by just looking at her posture. 

“E?” Mal gasped out. Ben furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t know what she was saying. “Evie?” Mal managed to form the girl’s name. She wanted her best friend right now. She wanted familiarity. 

“Evie? Do you want me to go get Evie?” Ben tried to form a sentence with the little information Mal had given him. Mal nodded her head to him and relaxed slightly. “Okay, I can go get here, but while I’m gone, you are going to get a scan done. Is that a deal?” 

Mal thought about it for a minute. She had no idea what a scan was and that terrified her. Ben looked positive about the procedure and so did the nurse. She knew better than to test the waters when she was in a vulnerable position and surrounded by two people. “Yes,” she agreed and lay back down on the bed. 

“Wonderful! Now I need to ask you a few questions before we get started. The first question I must ask, and I only ask because you are a young woman, is, are you or could you be pregnant?” Mal’s eyes flickered to the boy next to her. She had hoped he didn’t sense her hesitation in answering. Martha, however, caught the glance and placed a hand on Ben’s arm. “Ben, why don’t you step out for a moment? I’ve noticed that patients are more comfortable if there isn’t an audience. Why don’t you head down and get the girl she asked for earlier?” Ben nodded and looked to Mal for a reason to stay. He had hoped she would stop him from leaving, but when she refused to meet his eyes, he sighed in defeat and walked out of the door. 

“Thank you,” Mal whispered. She didn’t want Ben to know about her past, any of it. 

“You don’t have to thank me, sweetie. Now that he is out of the room, do you think you could answer my question?” Martha looked to the girl with hopeful eyes. “If you are, it could be potentially harmful to a developing fetus.” Martha felt a little odd guilt tripping a patient of hers, but she wasn’t one to take risks in any sense.

Mal chewed on her lip and picked at a thread on the blanket. She closed her eyes and allowed one tear to fall before she nodded her head. Martha hid her surprise and placed a hand over the younger girl’s hand. 

“I’m glad you told me,” Martha wanted to create a safe space for the girl. “Do you know how far along you are?” Mal glanced up slightly before looking back down in shame.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if I really am. I just know there is a possibility.” Mal whispered with her eyes closed. She couldn’t admit this to a stranger and look at her. She could feel the pity radiating from the nurse’s eyes. 

“Okay, we’ll take a test? Then we will know for sure and we can go from there.” Martha smiled and turned around to the cabinet. Mal watched as she pulled out a little stick thing from the cabinet. “All you have to do is pee on the end that is covered.” Mal nodded and reached for the test. Martha pointed to the bathroom and helped Mal over to it. “I’ll be right out here if you need anything.” Mal nodded her head and turned to bathroom.

Mal carefully did as she was told. She braced herself against the sink and steadied herself. She spun around at the sound of a knock at the door. “One moment please.” Mal quickly washed her hands and moved to open the door. 

“I figured you would want a little bit of support with this,” Martha nodded to the test in Mal’s hands. “It takes three minutes to show the results, but sometimes, they show up sooner.” Martha explained and guided Mal back to the bed. Mal stared at the seconds’ hand of the clock. She simultaneously wished time would move quickly or slow down. The in between of not knowing was absolute agony. 

“It’s been three minutes,” Mal announced with no confidence. Her hands shook as she fumbled around with the test clasped in them. 

“Deep breath,” Martha slid the test out of Mal’s hands and looked at the results. Mal chewed on her lip and searched the nurse’s face for any indication of the results. “Mal…” Martha trailed off and looked at the girl in front of her. 

“Mal, I brought Evie,” Ben barged in with the blue haired girl behind him. “What is that?” He pointed to the test in Martha’s hand. Mal’s face paled and her breath escaped her. She couldn’t deal with everything now.


	9. Chapter 9

“Benjamin! I asked you to leave the room. I didn’t give you permission to come back in this room. You need to leave.” Martha scolded him. 

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what that is.” Ben demanded. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what a pregnancy test looked like, but he wanted to know why it was out. His brain was short circuiting and he couldn’t come up with a logical reason for it to be out. 

“Ben…”Evie tried to pull the boy out of the room. She didn’t know why Mal was in the room, he had just rushed to pull Evie out of class, but she knew that Mal didn’t want for the world to find out about this.

“No,” Ben yelled. He was getting angry. He hated secrets and it seemed like the Isle children had one after another. “What is that?” Mal and Evie flinched at his tone. They were used to the shouts of men on the Isle, but that didn’t stop the involuntarily movements. 

“Ben, you need to calm down.” Martha noticed the flinch of both the girls. “Can I talk to you in the hall?”  
Martha knew that the only way to get Ben to calm down was to remove him from the situation. “Here, Evie, I’ll give you this. I’ll be right back to discuss it with you.” Martha nodded to Mal. She didn’t wait for an answer from Ben; instead she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room. 

“Mal, what happened?” Evie was cautious. She didn’t dare look at the small object in her hand.

“I ran into Ben and fell back. I knocked my head on the floor and passed out. At least that’s the story they are giving me.” Mal still didn’t know if she trusted the story. She had wanted to believe it, but she couldn’t truly trust the people here. “They needed to take a scan of my head. Martha, the nurse, asked me if it was a possibility that I was pregnant, she said that it could hurt a baby. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to be like my mother.” Mal broke down. The second Martha had mentioned the possibility of hurting something that Mal wasn’t entirely sure existed, Mal broke down. Hurting something made her like her mother and while she wasn’t entirely sure she was any different with her past, she wanted this to be something she could protect.

“Mal,” Evie didn’t know what to say. Mal’s emotions were truly all over the place and she didn’t know how to react to them anymore. She wasn’t sure what Mal wanted to do about anything. 

“Can you just look at the test?” Mal knew that her future in Auradon was compromised by the definite knowledge of the results. Evie nodded and flipped the test over in her hands. “What is it?” Mal didn’t like the silence of her friend.

“Mal, I’m so sorry.” Evie wanted to cry for her friend. She wanted to face the creator of the cruel world and demand to know why this happened. She wanted five minutes alone with the Beast, the creator of the Isle, and be the only one to come out of the room. 

Mal didn’t know what to do. Her body was numb and her mind wasn’t working the way it should. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to smash something. “Okay, now that we know.” Mal nodded. She was slightly relieved that she knew for sure. Knowing in certainty meant that she could plan for this. It was now completely in her control.

“Mal, it is okay to be upset.” Evie was extremely concerned about the emotions Mal had just experienced. Evie took a step away from Mal when she noticed her eyes glowing green. 

“No, Evie, I don’t get to be upset. I have to figure out the next steps. I have to figure out what to do about Ben now that he knows something is up. I need to move forward.” Mal snapped. She was never one to deal with her emotions and her thoughts were surging through her mind. 

“Girls!” Martha looked between the two girls and her smile dropped. She knew that there was something off between them, but she wasn’t sure what. “What did it say?” She pointed to the test that was still in Evie’s hand.

“Well, it looks like there will be another villain to raise.” Mal shrugged. In truth, she was screaming on the inside. She didn’t want this to happen. She berated herself for her weakness. 

“You were always a weak little girl. I should’ve finished you off when I had the chance.” Mal’s blinked and looked around. She was positive that her mother was talking to her. 

“Mal, you are not a villain.” Mal scoffed. This lady didn’t know anything about her. She didn’t know how much of a disappointment she was to everyone on the Isle. She was destined to be this ruler of all evil and yet here she was a runaway. 

“Do you want to go back to the room?” Evie looked at Mal. The suggestion was truly selfish on Evie’s part. She didn’t want to be alone for the rest of the day.

“You can’t leave; you still have a head injury.” Martha protested. Evie rolled her eyes at the adult. 

“You can stop pretending you care about us. We are only villains. Plus we have to figure out how deal with the whole Ben thing.” Evie didn’t need to elaborate any more on the situation. 

“Oh, you don’t need to worry. I spelled him.” Martha shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. 

“You spelled the king?” Mal was shocked. 

“Just a little forgetful spell, he doesn’t remember anything from his first period on.” Martha winked. Mal smiled to her and moved off the bed. 

“Well, thank you, but I really should be going. I’m feeling much better.” Mal slapped a fake smile on her face and walked swiftly out the door. Her head was pounding and she still felt slightly nauseous, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her.

“E,” Mal yelled behind her. She didn’t want to stop her trek forward for fear of being forced to stay in the infirmary. Mal heard the footsteps approach her. “Evie, I don’t think I can do this,” Mal confessed. 

“You are the strongest person I know. You single handedly created a gang on the Isle. You stood up to your mom more times than I can count.” 

“Yeah, I stood up so well or did you forget about the times you had to pick me up of the floor?” Mal was letting her anger at the situation control her feelings. 

“Mal, you are going to be okay.” Evie squeezed Mal’s shoulder. She didn’t know how to keep Mal from going under. 

“Hey,” Mal and Evie whipped their heads around at the sound of Ben’s voice. “I haven’t seen you all day, is everything okay?” Mal let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Evie’s face softened in relief. 

“Yeah, we are fine. Just a lot of homework,” Mal lied smoothly. “It was a long day of classes. I think I need a nap.” Ben chuckled. He knew what it was like to be over worked. 

“Yeah, I understand that. I feel like after a long day of meetings, all I need is a nap.” Ben sympathized with her. “I’ll leave you girls to it. Oh and don’t forget about swim lessons today at six!” Ben waved and headed back to his dorm.

“She really did spell him,” Evie was shocked that he actually didn’t remember anything. 

“Yeah, I guess she did. E, what are we going to about this whole swim lesson?” Mal was worried.

“I don’t know, M, we’ll think of something.” Evie walked the rest of the way down the hall to their dorm. “Let’s do as you suggested though. I could really use a nap.” Evie tried to lighten the mood. 

“Yeah…” Mal trailed off. She couldn’t deny that she was exhausted in every sense. She needed sleep, but the last few weeks were relentless on her mind. 

Evie snuggled into her bed and rolled onto her side. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. “Get some rest.” Evie slurred already succumbing to sleep. Mal rolled her eyes. Evie was always the first one to sleep, even when there was war on the Isle. 

“I will,” Mal muttered back and fell into a troubled sleep. Mal could escape her demons with her eyes closed. She had known that since the night she was haunted. It was always the same nightmare. She was running into an alley on the Isle. She was always backed against the wall. She could practically feel the blade against her neck. She could feel his breath against her face. It wasn’t long before the screaming started. She could hear her mother tsk at her and tell her she deserved it. 

“Mal,” Evie awoke to the screams again. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted so badly to take away Mal’s pain. Mal didn’t deserve this. Mal was one of the most selfless people she knew. She fought viciously for her friends. She gave away food to the other kids on the Isle even if it meant facing the wrath of her mother. 

“Come on, you can do this.” Evie took a chance and slid behind the girl. She was well aware that Mal could severely hurt her, but she didn’t care. “That’s it.” Evie smiled when Mal slowly started to calm down in her sleep. Mal gripped the arms of the girl and held on as a lifeline. Evie felt herself falling back to sleep in a matter of seconds. 

“E, what are you doing?” Mal stirred awake. She squinted her eyes to look at the clock. “Evie, how long did we sleep for?” 

“Three, no four hours,” Evie removed herself from the bed and stretched. She wasn’t used to going physical contact with someone and it made her slightly uncomfortable. 

“How?” Mal was at a loss for words. It was the first time that she had slept a decent amount of time in a long time. 

“Mal, we missed the swimming lesson!” Evie scrambled when the time finally dawned on her. Mal smirked and shrugged. 

“Oh well,” Mal’s voice was lighter. “Let’s go find some food.” Mal suggested and walked to the door. 

“Hey, I missed you.” Ben was on the other side of the door when it swung open. “I was just coming to get you for dinner.” Ben smiled at Mal. 

“Yeah, we were just about to head down.” Mal smiled at Ben. She blamed it on the sleep she had gotten, but she was suddenly more willing to interact with people.


	10. Chapter 10

“So how was your first day of classes?” Ben asked as they walked down to the cafeteria. Evie and Mal exchanged worried glances. Neither knew what to say.

“Oh, they were…” Mal trailed off. “Hey where are Jay and Carlos hiding?” She looked around and hoped that they would suddenly appear. She thought back to the last time she saw them and scrunched her face before she realized. “E! We told the boys we would meet them for lunch!” Mal burst out. 

“Oh,” Evie’s face fell. Mal was right. In all the commotion that today was, neither girl took the time to find the others and explain what happened. “Sorry, Ben, we need to find Jay and Carlos before we go eat.” Evie took ahold of Mal’s arm and started to drag her in the opposite direction. Evie berated herself for only thinking of half of the group. The girls rushed to the boys’ dorm room, well they walked as quickly as Mal could handle, she did still have a head injury after all. “Jay? Carlos?” Evie called through the door before she knocked. On the Isle, each of them knew to listen for the voice of an ally before opening any door or barricade. 

“Where have you been?” Jay nearly yelled the second he heard Evie’s voice. He wasn’t about to admit out loud that he was worried, but he was nearly sick from pacing the floor. “Do you know what time it is?” Jay crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Jay, it was my fault.” Mal stood her ground. She might not be the strongest right now, but she still had the respect of the group. “I fell and hit my head. I was taken to the infirmary.” Mal explained. She sighed when Carlos’s face scrunched in confusion. “It’s a place where people get better when they are hurt.” Mal knew such a place didn’t exist on the Isle. If anyone was hurt enough to need medical attention and didn’t have allies, he was most likely dead by the next day. “We took a nap once we went back to the room.” Mal softened her face. 

“Just let us know next time, okay?” Jay felt the anger leave his body. He knew that Mal and Evie wouldn’t do anything on purpose to make another worry. It clouded the judgment of people and clouded judgment was never a good sign in a fight. 

“We will.” Evie promised. “We are going to go get some dinner, if you care to join us.” Evie changed the subject. She didn’t want to dwell on anything that had happened in the day. 

“Uh, sure,” Carlos answered for the two and stood up from the bed. He motioned for Jay to come on and followed the two girls out the door. “So, Mal, how did you fall?” On the Isle, Mal was notorious for being light on her feet. She wasn’t one to be clumsy because being clumsy meant getting caught. 

“I ran into Ben.” Mal shrugged. “Literally,” She could hear the chuckled from her friends and scowled. “I wasn’t looking ahead, there were too many things happening around me.” She explained more and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“Oh, don’t get grumpy,” Evie knocked shoulders with Mal. “I’m just saying twinkle toes might need some more practice on her feet.” Evie grinned and for the first time in a while, Mal found herself laughing with her friends. She allowed all the worry escape her.

“Can we just go get dinner?” Mal grumbled jokingly to her friends. It felt good to smile, Mal thought to her. It had been weeks since she felt even a fraction of her old self. Her emotions had her on a roller coaster and she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. “I’m starving.” Mal remembered missing lunch earlier in the day. She thought about the results she had received in the nurse’s office. Jay and Carlos were still in the dark about the news. “I’m eating for two now, I guess.” Mal said causally. She didn’t want to make a big deal about it.

Carlos and Jay stopped walking after Mal revealed the truth. “Wait,” Carlos yelled. Mal stopped walking and took a deep breath before she turned around. “You are?” He questioned when he was close enough to her to hear without yelling. Mal chewed her bottom lip and nodded her head. She didn’t trust her voice. 

“We are with you, Mal.” Jay reminded her. He knew that, regardless if Mal asked for help or not, the four of them would always be there for each other. Mal tearfully smiled at Jay and shook her head. She didn’t want to break down in the hallway.

“Anyway, you aren’t going to make me wait any longer to eat, now are you?” Mal raised an eyebrow. She cracked a smile and turned on her heel. “Don’t make me turn the pregnancy hormones on you.” Mal yelled back to them. She knew that she needed to make jokes about the situation before she crumbled.

“Typical, Mal,” Evie shook her head at the boys. She was used to Mal’s coping mechanisms back on the Isle. Evie couldn’t keep count of the number of times she heard the jokes from Mal after a particularly bad punishment. “Come on,” she gestured to the boys who were still shocked. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re coming.” Jay smacked Carlos’s arm and followed Evie and Mal. Jay knew that eventually Mal was going to explode, but he was willing to just take the good days before it happened. He would pick up the pieces after, like he always did. 

“Should we be worried about her attitude?” Carlos whispered to him. He normally didn’t see Mal at her worst. 

“Nah,” Jay reassured him. “Just let her have this,” in all honesty, Jay was a little jealous of Carlos. He was the last to join the group and to this day, the most sheltered from the problems they each faced. He wasn’t sure about the body dysmorphia or the eating disorders that plagued Evie’s mind. He didn’t know about the body count Jay had under his belt. He didn’t know the amount of scars that were hidden under Mal’s skin. Jay knew the most of Mal’s past, but even he didn’t know everything. He could only imagine what it was like to have the Mistress of Evil as a mother. 

“What are you two up to?” Carlos asked the laughing girls. “Oh, we are here.” He looked at the sign beside the door. “But seriously, what were you two laughing about?” He cocked an eyebrow at the two.

Evie and Mal looked at each other before bursting out in another fit of giggles. “Nothing,” Mal said once she calmed down a bit. “Are you ready to face the crowds?” Mal slowly opened the door and grimaced at the noise. 

“I, for one, am ready to try some more of this food. The lack of rot on the fruit was a nice surprise, not to mention the lack of dirt.” Jay pushed his way around Mal and into the cafeteria. He clapped his hands together and pointed at the line. “This way,” he didn’t wait for an answer and walked to the servicing area. 

“When doesn’t he think about food?” Evie rolled her eyes. It wasn’t a secret on the Isle that Jay was always searching for food. Evie had the worst relationship with food. When she was a kid, her mother was diligent at counting her calories. Her mother would withhold food for lengthy periods of time. Evie was often criticized for the way her body looked. She spent many hours in front of one of the many mirrors that lined her house and pointed out her flaws. As she grew up, she had taken the role of counting calories. 

Mal rubbed Evie’s arm. She knew where Evie’s mind had gone the second her eyes went hazy. “It’s okay, E,” Mal smiled at her friend. She hated the thoughts that were forced into Evie’s mind. 

“I know, M,” Evie smiled sadly at Mal. “I’m going to try,” Evie promised. Mal knew that Evie meant every word of her promise. She also knew that Evie wasn’t the strongest when it came to herself. 

“I need you,” Mal shrugged. She knew it was a low blow, bringing herself into the mix, but she needed to be selfish at the moment. If she was selfish, Evie wouldn’t be able to say no. Evie nodded her head and walked to the servicing line. She chanted encouraging words in her mind, but she couldn’t help but count the calories in her head, well as best as she could. She didn’t feel comfortable putting anything she didn’t truly know into her body. 

“What would you like, dear?” The lady was warm in welcoming the two girls. Evie continued looking at the food and ignored her.

“What do you suggest?” Mal answered for Evie. She could tell Evie was calculating numbers in her mind. “We’ll just have two of that.” Mal didn’t wait for an answer. She needed to get Evie away from the food line and into a chair. 

“Here you are,” the lady placed two trays on the counter. “Have a wonderful day!” Mal and Evie picked up the trays as the lady went to the next student behind them.

“Thank you.” Evie whispered to Mal. 

“It’s what friend’s do.” Mal told her. “Now, let’s go find the boys,” Mal’s eyes began to search the tables for the familiar faces. 

“Mal! Over here,” Ben called out from his table. She looked over to the table and noticed five strange faces alongside Ben. She shook her head and continued her search. She sighed in relief the second she spotted Jay shoveling food his face. 

“Idiots, you can’t wait for us?” Mal wasn’t mad at the two. Her mind was anxious about the amount of people packed in one area. 

“Sorry, Mal, but food,” Jay’s mouth was stuffed with food, but that didn’t stop him from talking. In all honesty, the food here was enough to make him want to stay forever. He was willing to kill for the chance to stay here forever. 

“Whatever,” Mal waved them off. Her eyes search the surroundings one more time before they landed on the familiar figure walking to the table. “Oh, joy,” she muttered to herself.

“Hey, guys,” Ben greeted. “I see you finally completed your group.” Ben winked at Mal. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about the kids from the Isle. He would also be lying if he said that Mal was the one he was most curious. 

“Yep,” Mal tried to blow him off. 

“Great!” Ben wasn’t one to take a hint. “So, since you missed swimming lessons today, we will have to start tomorrow. Normally, it would just be twice a week, once on Monday and then again on Wednesday, but this week, we will have to go Tuesday and Wednesday.” Mal rolled her eyes.

“I really don’t think we are interested in swimming.” Mal gritted her teeth. This boy infuriated her to no end. He wouldn’t take no for anything and he was constantly pushing his ideas on them. 

“Just one lesson and if you don’t like it, I’ll take you to Fairy Godmother and she’ll help you explore other options.” Ben pleaded. He thought this was the perfect way to get to know the children from the Isle.

“Fine, now can we finish eating?” Mal agreed. She would see Fairy Godmother first thing in the morning. She could talk to her before Ben. 

“Great! Wonderful!” Ben’s face split into two with a grin. “I’ll see you later tonight!”


	11. Chapter 11

“What do you think he meant by seeing us later?” Ben’s farewell was confusing her. They didn’t have plans after dinner. Plus, curfew was in a few hours. 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it.” Mal said after a few beats. She wasn’t worried about it. The only thing she could think about was how uncomfortably full she was at that moment. Food on the Isle was scarce to say the least. The food that was present was often times well past the recommended time of consumption. “Or maybe they are taking watch over us villains.” Mal pondered the thought. She wasn’t sure about the protocol that surrounded them, but she was sure that someone was never far from them at all times.

“Yeah, but what about last night,” Evie questioned Mal. Up until Mal started screaming, she hadn’t heard anything outside of her door last night. Maybe Fairy Godmother had been closer than she claimed to be. 

“Evie, can we not think about this right now?” Mal was truly exhausted and her stomach still felt like it was going to burst at the seams. Mal honestly didn’t want to talk about anything right now. She wanted to keep her mind off of anything that caused them to be different. She didn’t really want to think about the constant surveillance they were the subjects of. “Can we not think about us being the outcasts?” Mal knew that it was only a matter of time before her predicament became common knowledge.

“I know, Mal, but I don’t really feel comfortable having someone looking over our shoulders constantly. It’s like they are waiting for us to mess up enough to send us back to the Isle.” Evie was groomed to stand out. Her mother told her countless times that a prince wouldn’t want a person that blends into a crowd. She didn’t want to stand out, though. She wanted to fit in with the crowd. She wanted to belong here more than anything. 

“I know, E, but right now, we need to focus on the situation. If anyone finds out, there is no guarantee that they won’t ship me back to Isle and never look back.” Mal sighed. She didn’t want to think about the possibility of that happening. “Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts.” Mal tried to smile. 

“Mal, we won’t allow that to happen.” Mal knew that Evie couldn’t keep her promise. Evie secretly knew that too, but she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her group without a fight. “At least not without a fight and not alone,” Evie amended. She smiled at her friend. “Mal, we will get through this. Jay, Carlos, and I will always be there for you. You are single handedly the strongest person I know, mentally and physically.” Evie bumped her shoulder with Mal. 

“Where did the boys go?” Mal changed the subject. If she was honest, she was drowning in her thoughts. She wasn’t ready to fully deal with the situation at large. She still couldn’t sleep well on her own and she didn’t know whether to be angry or let the depression take over her being. 

“They went to the track they saw, I think.” Evie said off handedly. She was Mal’s best friend and she hated that this was something Mal felt like she couldn’t talk about with Evie. “Mal, please don’t shut me out.” Evie pleaded when she caught Mal’s eye.

“Evie, please, can we not do this?” Mal tried to remain calm. She couldn’t help be let the anger course her veins when Evie refused to drop the subject.

“Mal, you need to open up to someone. You won’t be able to handle it forever. I know you.” Evie wasn’t going to let the other girl hide anymore from her. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mal’s eyes flashed green. 

Evie flinched slightly but held her ground. She knew what Mal was trying to do, but she wasn’t going to be scared into submission. “Mal, you are barely holding it together as it is. You can’t sleep without a concussion!” Evie either didn’t notice her voice rising or she didn’t care about it. 

“Can you keep it down?” Mal hissed and looked around them. 

“Mal, I’m sick of you shutting down. You can’t right now.” Evie lowered her eyes to the ground.

“E, please,” Mal looked around once more. She swore she could feel eyes on her at that moment. “We can talk about this once we get into the room. Please, just not here,” Mal compromised. She would have more leeway in the room than she would in the hallway. 

“Fine,” Evie stomped off. Mal looked to the sky and hoped that someone would send her a sign. She rolled her eyes in disgust. She knew no one was looking out for her, no one ever was. Mal secretly hoped that the hallway would have lasted forever, but all too soon, she was faced with the door to her room.

“E, I don’t know what you want me to say.” Mal sat softly on the bed. She didn’t dare look into the eyes of her best friend. It wasn’t that she was scared of Evie. It was that she was ashamed of everything.

“The truth, Mal,” Evie spoke softly. She didn’t want to be angry at Mal, she just felt helpless in the situation. “What’s going on in your mind?” 

Mal chewed on her lip. On the Isle, she had never felt exposed. She was always the one in control. She was the one who asked the questions and instilled fear into the lives of nearly everyone. “I don’t know.” Mal was honest. She had no idea what her mind was truly saying to her. Evie raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t reply. She was going to try to be patient; it was what her friend needed from her. “E, I have so many thoughts swimming through my head. I can’t keep track of it all. I try so hard to be okay with everything that is happening. One moment I’m okay, well as okay as I can be, and the next I’m spiraling. We’ve only been here for a little over twenty-four hours and I can’t seem to get things right.” Mal looked up. 

“Mal, you don’t have…” Evie didn’t know what to say. She knew that they couldn’t afford to do anything wrong, harmless or not, because it could mean they would get sent back.

“No, E, we are a trial run. Do you know what that means?” Mal didn’t wait for Evie to answer before she continued. “It means that they can send us back whenever. Do you know what would happen if we got sent back? Mother would kill me. No she would do worse and she wouldn’t think twice about it either.” Mal didn’t realize that she had her hand subconsciously on her stomach. Evie’s eyes fluttered to her stomach, but she didn’t say anything. “Your mother would go back to controlling your life. Can you imagine how disappointed she would be that you didn’t bag a prince?” Mal knew it was a low blow but she needed to get Evie to understand the magnitude of the situation. “Jay would be whipped for every hour he was away by his father for not stealing anything from the rich people. And Carlos, Carlos, who knows what would happen to him, Cruella would most likely lock him away forever.” Mal walked over to Evie’s side of the bed and grabbed Evie’s hands. “I’m not trying to upset you. I’m trying to protect you.”

“I know that you think you are protecting us, Mal, but right now, you are not completely there to protect us.” Evie looked down at their hands. “Let us be there for you.” 

“Evie, I’m so scared right now.” Mal broke down. She wasn’t crying yet, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she would last. “I don’t know whether or not to act around everyone. I want to hide away and never see the light of day again, but I can’t do that. I have to pretend that everything is okay. I have to pretend that nothing happened and I’m not currently carrying a child from it. Do you know what that’s like? I am reminded every day that I wasn’t strong enough. I am reminded that I was weak.” Mal couldn’t stop herself. She had kept her feelings inside for so long, they flooded out of her mouth. 

“Mal, there was nothing you could do.” Evie was subjected to constant stares and advancements. She was no stranger to unwanted attention and while she had never actually been through what Mal had, she felt disgusted with herself for craving attention sometimes. 

“Knock knock,” Mal rolled her eyes at the voice that echoed through the door.

“Hold that thought,” Evie told Mal and walked to open the door. Mal looked up to keep her emotions at bay. She couldn’t afford anyone knowing anything. 

“Hey, guy!” Ben smiled at Evie. 

“Hey, Ben, we were actually just getting ready for bed, so if you’ll excuse us…” Evie tried to shut the door but Ben wasn’t moving. 

“Actually, I came to check on Mal.” Ben wasn’t rude as he slipped passed Evie and into the room. “Mal, how are you feeling?” 

Mal took a few breaths to calm herself before she opened her eyes to look at Ben. “What do you mean?” She scrunched her face. 

“You hit your head today,” Ben’s face fell in concern. “If you are having memory loss, we need to get you to the infirmary right away.” Ben went to help Mal off of the bed but dropped his arms the second she tensed. 

“Oh, right, sorry,” Mal could’ve slapped her forehead. She was too engrossed in the conversation with Evie that she forgotten the accident. “I remember it, I’m just really tired.” She emphasized with a yawn. 

“Are you sure? I could get her to come here.” Ben was concerned about the purple haired girl. 

“Really, she’s fine.” Evie stood impatiently at the door. “Besides, it’s almost curfew. We wouldn’t want Fairy Godmother here, would we?” She mentioned nonchalantly. 

“Right, well, don’t forget, we have swimming lessons right after school.” Ben reminded them.

“Actually, I heard there was an art extracurricular,” Mal blurted. She vaguely remembered a poster she saw on the wall. Ben nodded at her before she continued. “I was hoping to take that.”

“She’s an artist.” Evie helped her friend out.

“Well, we can talk to Fairy Godmother in the morning and get you signed up!” If Ben was disappointed, he didn’t show it. “I guess I’ll leave you to it! Good night, ladies,” Ben bid good bye and walked out of the door. 

“Bye,” Evie called out as he disappeared down the hallway and shut the door. 

“Let’s get some sleep,” Mal left no room for argument as she snuggled under the blankets.

Evie sighed and turned off the light and copied Mal’s movements. She only hoped that Mal could sleep through the night.


	12. Chapter 12

“Well, how was everyone’s first day yesterday?” Fairy Godmother asked as they entered her make shift classroom. She saw the lifeless eyes Mal sported and grew worried. She hadn’t been notified about any screams, but that didn’t mean the night was peaceful.

“Dandy,” Mal said sarcastically. While she hadn’t woken up Evie with her screams, she hadn’t slept great. She woke up in a cold sweat around two in the morning and hadn’t been back to sleep. She glanced over at Evie to see her face. She silently choked back sobs until the alarm had gone off and it was deemed appropriate to rush to the bathroom. 

“Take a seat, please,” Fairy Godmother decided to change the subject. She promised herself she would ask the girl later today, but she didn’t want to confront her in a group setting. “Let’s get started, shall we?” Fairy Godmother smiled at them. Her lesson was focused on the dos and don’ts of magical items. She was impressed by Mal’s correct answers to each question. 

“Let’s go, Mal,” Evie nudged the girl. Mal had spaced for the last five minutes. She jumped at the sudden contact but nodded at Evie. 

“Mal, actually, I would like to talk to you, if you don’t mind.” Fairy Godmother spoke gently to the girl. Having the head mistress request to see someone after class was nerve racking enough, she didn’t want Mal to bolt or build more walls. “It’ll just take a moment.”

“Sure,” Mal spoke slowly and finished gathering up her things. “I’ll meet up with you at lunch.” Mal told the group quietly and walked to the front of the room. “I’m going to be late to class.” Mal didn’t intend to be rude, but she didn’t want to walk into a room late. Everyone would stare and she didn’t want to attention.

“I’ll write you a note,” Fairy Godmother waved off her statement. “I talked to Martha in the infirmary. Are you okay?” Mal’s eyes widened and she felt her heart start racing.

“She can’t,” Mal whispered. Martha promised Mal she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. “She promised.” Mal couldn’t help but feel betrayed even though she knew she had no right. She didn’t trust anyone here and the feeling was very much reciprocated. 

“Mal, she told me about your head injury. You don’t look the greatest right now. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Fairy Godmother knitted her eyebrows together. She didn’t understand why Mal wouldn’t her to know. “We are all here to help.” Fairy Godmother reminded Mal. 

“Yeah,” Mal snorted before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened. “I mean, I’m fine.” She quickly tried to cover up her outburst. Back on the Isle, Mal would’ve been reprimanded severely for disrespecting her mother. 

“I’ll be here for you.” Fairy Godmother promised and went back to the small podium. “Let me just write you a note to go back to class.” Mal chewed on her bottom lip. She wasn’t very late, only five minutes, but she wasn’t sure how the teacher was. 

“Okay,” Mal swallowed her worries. She had faced worse on the Isle by far. 

“Oh! Before I forget, Ben mentioned that you were thinking about taking art as your extracurricular.” Fairy Godmother’s eyes lit up as she spoke. “I can sign you up, just say the word,” She told Mal as she handed over the note. Mal nodded and grasped the note in her hand. “Mal, I’ll see you around and remember, I’m only a small distance away.” She reassured the purple haired girl and turned her back to face the board. 

Mal felt like running from the classroom. She felt like she was suffocating but she wasn’t going to allow herself to run. She held her head as high as it would go and walked to her next class. Mal could feel the eyes turn to her the second she entered the room. She glanced around to find an empty chair and made a beeline to it. “Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence, Miss,” The teacher sneered at Mal but she ignored him. She pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began doodling a picture of herself as a small child. 

“Do you plan on staying here all day or are you going to lunch?” Mal looked up at the voice. It wasn’t rude, simply curious. She looked around the room to see that she was the last one in a seat. 

“Oh,” Mal looked at the picture in front of her and hurriedly placed it in her bag to finish later. 

“I’m Lonnie,” The girl smiled and threw her hand out for Mal to shake. Mal noticed the sudden movement and flinched back. She dropped her bag and tensed her body for a fight. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Lonnie apologized. She wasn’t going to lie to herself and say she wasn’t scared of the posture held by the girl. 

“Mal,” Mal introduced herself with a nod and relaxed her body. “You didn’t frighten me.” Mal brushed off the invisible dirt on her outfit. Lonnie looked at her skeptically, but ultimately shrugged.

“I’ll walk with you,” Lonnie smiled and motioned her head to the side. She was one of the few who were on board with bringing the villain’s children over to Auradon. She knew what her mother had been through when she was discriminated against for being a female. Her family knew what it was like to fight for something to help other people. “You’re Maleficent’s daughter, aren’t you?” Lonnie didn’t spit the name out like most people did. 

“Uh, yeah,” Mal wasn’t one for small talk. In fact, she hated small talk. Nothing was ever accomplished and on the Isle, time was always important. Mal could feel eyes on her as she walked through the crowded hallways. 

“How do you like it so far?” Lonnie rambled on. She didn’t take the hint Mal was giving her with her body language. 

“Well, we’ve only been here for a short period of time.” Mal didn’t give her a definitive answer. How could she say she was scared of being here? How could she say she missed the Isle for the familiarity but it absolutely terrified her of having to go back?

“Well, yeah, but there has to be something that sways your thoughts on it being better or worse than the Isle.” Lonnie didn’t have any ill meaning behind the words, but Mal’s eyes hardened.

“You don’t know what the Isle is like.” Mal hissed. She didn’t want sympathy for everything she had endured, especially not from the people that had caused her the pain. “Can we just stop this?” Mal stopped walking to face the girl. 

“Stop what?” Lonnie was generally confused. 

“Stop talking. You and I are not friends.” Mal was blunt but she didn’t care. She didn’t want someone trying to dig into her past. 

“But we could be.” Lonnie spoke softly. 

“I don’t need any more friends.” Mal flashed her green eyes in hopes of frightening the girl enough to walk away. “I have the only ones I need.” 

“There is no limit on the amount of friends someone needs.” Lonnie was honest. She knew that in tough times, a large support system was the best thing to fall back on. “You moved away from your home, from your parents, you are forced to go to a new school with new people in a foreign land.” She pointed out to Mal. 

“Yeah, I’m not really worried about being away from my parents.” Mal muttered. She was conflicted on whether or not she wanted the girl to hear her. “My friends are waiting for me.” Mal told her and turned on her heel. It was obvious the girl in front of her wasn’t going to stop, so she decided to just walk away. 

“E, Jay, Carlos, over here,” Mal tried to get their attention. She huffed when they didn’t turn around. They were huddled together. “Finally, I was trying to get your attention.” Mal tapped on Evie’s shoulder. 

“Mal, hey,” Evie jumped at the contact. While she hadn’t been through everything Mal had, she still had her fair share of abuse. “Ben was just telling us about the coronation scheduled in three weeks.” Mal had only noticed Ben when Evie mentioned his name. 

“Mal, I was just telling them what to expect.” Ben was honest. He knew that any royal event was overwhelming to anyone in Auradon; he could only imagine what it would be like for someone who wasn’t groomed from day one. 

“And what should we expect?” Mal raised an eyebrow. She knew that Ben was scheduled to have his coronation soon, but she had never actually seen something similar. The televisions on the Isle required change and money was scarce.

“There will be a good many reporters. Nearly everyone in the kingdom will be there. There is a dress code, but we will make sure you all receive the proper outfits prior to the event.” Ben was wistful for his coronation. He couldn’t wait to make the changes that he knew he desperately need to. 

“Actually, can I make the outfits?” Evie raised her hand slightly. She had been sewing since she could count the stitches. She knew what colors worked with everyone’s skin tone and she knew how to hide the scars on each of her friends. 

“Sure, that would be wonderful.” Ben smiled warmly at Evie. “Just make sure you don’t fall behind on your school work.” He told her in a joking manner but he was serious. He knew how Fairy Godmother could get if school work became something on a back burner. 

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Evie waved him off. “Now, let’s get back to the room so I can start.” She clapped her hands. She was trying to find a way to get out of eating lunch. She had too many calories at breakfast and she couldn’t afford to eat lunch and even dinner if she didn’t go for a run before. 

“You haven’t had lunch?” Ben was worried. He didn’t want her hobby to get in the way of her taking care of herself. 

“We can get something to take back to the room.” Mal could tell the way Evie’s eyes flitted to the food and then the floor. She knew exactly what Evie was thinking and she knew that the girl would do more damage if she wasn’t removed from this situation. Evie looked at Mal and smiled her gratitude. 

“Okay, hey, I’m heading to the lake later today, anyone want to join?” Mal rolled her eyes at the boy. He just wouldn’t give up the subject. The group exchanged looks before shaking their heads to turn down the offer. “Well if you change your mind, I’ll be at the Enchanted Lake right after the last period.” He waved to them as they all rushed to grab a piece of fruit and head out of the room. 

“Mal, you need to eat more than just a piece of fruit.” Mal was shocked that Carlos was the one to point out the obvious to her. “You need to take care of yourself. I know you know that.” He raised his eyebrows at her and then turned to talk to Jay as if he hadn’t said anything. 

“I’m aware,” Mal was annoyed but she didn’t say anything. 

“He’s just trying to help.” Evie came up beside Mal. 

“I’ll eat as much as you do.” Mal countered. She knew it was a low blow, but she needed Evie to see that she didn’t have to starve herself. She wanted Evie to know that she was doing as much harm to her body that Mal would be doing to hers. 

“Mal, I’m not the one eating for two.” Evie scowled. She didn’t bother keeping her voice low in the nearly empty hallway. 

“Evie!” Mal scolded and looked around the hallway for anyone in earshot. She froze the second her eyes locked with the girl from earlier. “Lonnie…” Mal whispered. She had hoped that Evie’s comment wasn’t loud enough to reach Lonnie’s ears, but she knew it had. 

“What did she mean?” Lonnie whispered and she locked her eyes to Mal’s stomach. Mal felt the bile rising up from her stomach. “Are you…” Lonnie trailed off as Mal vomited everything in her stomach onto the floor.


	13. Chapter 13

“Easy, girl,” Carlos was the first on the react. He ran his hand gently over Mal’s back in an attempt to sooth her. “You might as well let it all out. I mean, it can’t hurt the floor anymore.” He tried to joke. He was never really good at comforting people. 

“Mal,” Lonnie breathed out. She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t meant to upset the girl; she just wanted to know if what she heard was true. “I’m sorry,” she looked at the ground in front of her. She could feel her own stomach turning by the sound of Mal’s retching and she didn’t want to make matters worse. 

“Are you good now?” Carlos ignored Lonnie. He didn’t need the pity from the other girl to help his friend. Mal looked in his eyes and took a deep breath. She was far from good but she needed to put on a brave face. 

“Yeah,” Mal muttered and grimaced at the floor. She wasn’t squeamish by any means, but it was proof that she wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions as she thought. “Let’s go,” Mal turned on her heels and began to walk away from the mess. She knew her friends would follow her lead. 

“Wait,” Mal rolled her eyes. Why couldn’t Lonnie accept the fact that Mal didn’t want to be her friend? She didn’t want any parts of the girl. 

“What do you want?” Mal’s voice was hoarse. 

“I want the truth.” Lonnie’s voice was kind but it was also unwavering. “It’s either you tell me or I tell Fairy Godmother.” She gave Mal an ultimatum. She knew it was unfair, but she knew that the four looking at her needed and Auradon ally. 

“Go ahead; you don’t know what you are talking about.” Mal challenged Lonnie. She was admittedly frightened by the head mistress knowing her problems, but she didn’t want Lonnie to know. 

“I know enough for her to pry.” Lonnie countered. She knew that Fairy Godmother was kind hearted to everyone, but she did not take kindly to lies and while she wasn’t sure if Fairy Godmother had been directly lied to, she was omitted from the full truth. “Do you know what happens when she finds out about a lie?” Honestly, Lonnie wasn’t too sure what happened after a lie was in the open. No one she knew had ever lied to the elder lady.

“I’m sure we can handle it. Besides, there is nothing to lie about.” Jay butted in. He could see the fear behind Evie’s eyes. Evie was the only one in the group who couldn’t hide the emotion in her eyes from her friends. 

“Then you won’t mind if I mention it to her.” Lonnie was stalling. She didn’t want to go to Fairy Godmother, but she was truly worried about the girl. The four had only been here for three days. She knew that whatever happened with Mal happened on the Isle and she wasn’t sure the amount of care the other girl had received. 

“Whatever,” Mal’s voice would’ve gotten lost in the air if Lonnie hadn’t been looking at her. Mal turned once more on her heels and walked away. She felt like the walls were closing in on her and she needed to leave. Evie, Jay, and Carlos glared at Lonnie one more time before they followed Mal out of the hallway. Lonnie sighed and hung her head. She wasn’t going to pry, but she needed to know what to do and Fairy Godmother was the only one she truly trusted with this information.

“How long do you think we have? Well, how long do you think I have?” Mal’s voice cut through the tension. The walk to her locker had been filled with a tense silence. The weight of the words from Lonnie hung over their heads. Mal knew that once she was exposed, she would be shipped back to the Isle for good. After all, the people of Auradon couldn’t handle four villains in the school, how could they handle a fifth?

“Don’t say that, Mal.” Evie had made up her mind when they received the letters from the guards. She knew that whatever happened, it would be all for one. They were a package deal. It was why she fought harder the last day on the Isle to find Mal. “It’s all of us together.” Evie grabbed one of Mal’s hands in her own. She squeezed gently as her promise. 

“No, I got myself in this mess, it’s my fault.” Mal looked up at the sky. She didn’t want to drag her friends back with her. The Isle was no good for them. 

“No, you didn’t do anything.” Jay slammed his fist on the locker causing Mal to flinch but he didn’t stop. He was so angry that he didn’t protect his leader the way he should. “It was the monster who did that,” Jay realized that she never told him who it was. He wasn’t angry at her for not knowing, but it proved that Mal truly didn’t trust any of them completely. 

“We are going to be late.” Mal was quick to change the subject. “I already missed my afternoon classes yesterday. I can’t give them any more reason to throw me back into the barrier.” Mal thought about her next couple of classes. She could handle this until she was alone again. She could pretend everything was okay and she was still a ruthless leader from the Isle.

“And there are the walls.” Jay muttered and turned to leave. He didn’t want to talk in circles with the girl. She was too stubborn for her own good. 

“I’ll see you after the day.” Evie looked at Mal once more before walking to her next class. Carlos just nodded at Mal and headed off in his own direction. Mal opened her locker and grabbed out a blank notebook. She took the chance to close her eyes and take a deep breath while her face was hidden in the locker. 

“Hey!” Mal jumped out of her skin at Ben’s voice. She smacked the side of her head on the side of the locker in her hurried attempt to get away from the voice. “Oh my, I am so sorry,” Ben looked truly apologetic. He hadn’t meant for Mal to get hurt. He just wanted to see how her day was. 

“Great,” Mal pulled her head completely from the locker and glared at the boy. It was the second day in a row he had caused her pain. “What do you want?” She was rude, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to be bothered right now and that’s all he was. 

“Oh, I just wanted to see how your day was going.” Ben looked sheepishly at her. 

“Peachy, now will you stop asking me the same question all day every day?” Mal was truly annoyed by the constant questions. It was almost as if they were all concerned she was going to have a bad day and snap. 

“I’m sorry,” Ben held his hands out in defense. “I just want to make sure everything is going smoothly for you.” Ben had been genuine in his statement, but Mal couldn’t help but be angry. It was his father’s fault that she had been stuck over there with horrible people for so long. 

“Oh, so know you all care? What about the last sixteen years? I wouldn’t have to have a smooth transition if it weren’t for your parents.” Mal’s harsh words stabbed Ben in the chest. It was the first time she was truly showing emotion and she wasn’t about to hold back. “I don’t need your pity. I don’t need your sympathy. We are handling everything fine. We are adapters.” Mal huffed and slammed her locker shut. “I’m going to be late,” she spun on her feet and felt the room spin with her. She grasped the set of lockers to steady herself. She must have smacked her head harder than she thought. 

“Mal, let’s get you to the nurse,” Ben watched the girl sway and nearly fall into the lockers beside her.

“I’m fine, Ben,” Mal glared green eyes at him and used the wall to guide her way to the next class. She wasn’t going to admit defeat. She could feel bile rise from her stomach, but she pushed it down with a few deep breaths. She handled worse situations on the Isle to have someone help. She could handle a simple head injury. At least nothing was broken.

“Nice of you to join us, Mal,” The voice was kind but Mal ignored it. She didn’t want to deal with another adult right now. She just wanted to move on with her life alone. She was the only one she could trust in any situation. Mal flipped open her blank notebook and began sketching. She wasn’t sure what she was drawing, she never did until the pieces came together. 

“Mal,” The teacher’s voice cut through her concentration. “You are needed in the infirmary.” Mal gulped down her anxiety. She nodded and put her notebook in her bag. She secretly had hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with this until later, but she guessed it would be sooner rather than later. She walked with her head held high out of the classroom and down the hall.

“In here, dear,” Mal recognized Martha’s voice. She gripped her bag tighter in her hand and walked into the small office in the back of the infirmary. Mal felt the blood rush out of her face the second she saw Fairy Godmother. “Fairy Godmother would like to ask you a few questions.” Martha gave no indications of ill intent. She simply smiled and gestured to the seat in the corner of the room. “I’m just going to go to get some coffee.” Martha stood up from her chair.

“Actually,” Mal spoke out before she had time to think about where she was going. She didn’t need anyone in the room with her to protect her, but in the complete day the older lady had known the situation, she hadn’t said anything. 

“Do you want me to stay?” Martha eyed Mal. She sat back in her chair once Mal gave a slight nod. “Oh, dear, what happened to your head?” Martha had noticed a small bruise on the younger girl’s cheek. Mal brought her hand up to her face and winced when she came in contact with the bruise.

“Oh, nothing, I just hit it off my locker.” Mal shrugged and dropped her hand. “Nothing to worry about,” She waved off the concern and turned to Fairy Godmother. “Now, what are your questions?” Mal’s walls were shooting back up.

“A student has brought up concern about you.” Fairy Godmother spoke after a few moments. She wasn’t entirely sure how to bring up such a sensitive subject. Her other students had grown up with her as head mistress. She had watched them blossom into young men and women before her eyes. This girl, though, was uncharted territory. She didn’t know what made her tick. 

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” Mal was fierce on the defense. 

“Mal,” Martha warned with a hand on her arm. “Let her finish.” 

“Like I said, a student brought up concern about your wellbeing. She mentioned that you had vomited excessively after lunch. She also mentioned parts of a conversation she overheard between you friends and you. Now, I’m here to let you tell me what happened.” Fairy Godmother left no room for argument but that didn’t mean Mal wasn’t going to try.

“And if I don’t?” Mal countered. She wasn’t going to let her enemies know her weaknesses. 

“If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to send you to the hospital for testing. You did vomit today.” Fairy Godmother knew she was being overdramatic. She had the authority to send the girl to the hospital, but for something minor as a single time getting sick, she knew it was excessive. Mal glared at her with glowing eyes. “It’s your choice.” Fairy Godmother left the ball in Mal’s court. 

“Fine,” Mal took a breath to calm herself. “What do you think?” Mal wasn’t going to lay everything out on the table. She wasn’t stupid enough to let vital information slip up. 

“Well, she said that you are pregnant,” Fairy Godmother didn’t want to give the girl any wiggle room. She wanted answers and a plan of action.

“Then she is correct,” Mal sighed. 

“Are you sure?” Fairy Godmother wanted to be one hundred percent positive. Mal nodded her head and looked to Martha for confirmation.

“She took a test with me yesterday.” Martha didn’t take her eyes off of Mal. She wanted to be sure she said the correct thing. She had a little of the girl’s trust and she wasn’t about to ruin it. 

“Very well,” Fairy Godmother shifted through some papers on the desk.

“So when do I go back?” Mal asked. She wasn’t ready to go back, but she didn’t have much of choice. 

“What are you talking about?” Fairy Godmother stopped her searching and looked at Mal in surprise. 

“That’s the next step, right? You are just shipping me back to the Isle. I don’t fit in with your perfect world.” Mal was disgusted by the older woman’s fake surprise.

“You, my dear, aren’t going back. But this changes some things about going to the hospital. We need to make sure you are healthy.” Fairy Godmother smiled and found the paper she was looking for on the desk. “Come with me and we can go get the proper tests, yes?” Mal looked at Martha and stood from the chair. She followed Fairy Godmother out of the infirmary. She wasn’t ready for any of this.


	14. Chapter 14

“Are you okay?” Fairy Godmother looked over at Mal who was staring intently out the window. “I know today was a bit…intrusive.” Fairy Godmother had watched the girl get poked with needles, have an ultrasound, and have her vitals checked quickly. 

Mal scoffed at her words. It was more than a little bit. “You could say that.” Mal hadn’t seen the inside of an actual hospital before, but she didn’t like it. She felt the eyes around her judge her. She didn’t trust her surrounding and she was afraid they were going to use her blood for some sort of voodoo or a spell of some sort. She rolled her eyes at her last thought. She had been spending too much time hearing the stories from Dr. Facilier. 

“Do you have any questions about any of the tests?” The nurses in the room had done a decent job explaining to a frightened Mal all of the tests they were performing. Mal shook her head. She understood most of the information they threw at her, but it didn’t sink in her brain. The technicians had shown her the placenta on screen, but honestly Mal didn’t look. She didn’t want to see anything. She didn’t want to know anything. 

“How much longer until we get back to the school?” Mal was growing impatient. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts. 

“Not much longer,” Fairy Godmother assured her. “But we do need to discuss some things,” Fairy Godmother wanted to get the tests out of the way before bombarding the girl with the questions. Mal swallowed harshly and turned to look at the woman driving. 

“Like what?” Mal was tired, but it didn’t stop her from biting out her words. 

“I’m not the enemy, Mal. I’m only trying to help.” Fairy Godmother wasn’t unkind with her words, but she was stern. “The initial reports show that you are malnourished. The doctors suggest putting you on a heavy diet to help you gain some weight that will help you and the baby in the long run. We will get the results of the blood tests within the next couple of days. You aren’t very far along yet but it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” Fairy Godmother explained. 

“How long do I have?” Mal was curious. She could hide her pregnancy for a little while, but eventually her secret would be exposed. 

“How long do you have for what?” Fairy Godmother was concentrated on driving. She didn’t know what Mal was talking about.

“How long do I have before I am shipped back to the Isle? Tomorrow? Next week? When I start showing?” Mal questioned. She hated not knowing her future. She couldn’t plan for tomorrow if it was all in the air. 

Fairy Godmother pulled off to the side of the road and angled her body to the girl. She couldn’t help but notice how small Mal looked. She studied the sunken eyes filled with an expression she couldn’t quite place. “Mal, you are not going back to the Isle.” Fairy Godmother tried to put as much conviction into that statement. 

“Once the news breaks, assuming it hasn’t already, it will be a scandal. You’re perfect little world here wouldn’t be able to take it.” Mal rolled her eyes. She knew it was inevitable.

“We will deal with everything when that happens. You aren’t going to get sent back for this. It’s not the greatest timing for you with school, but it’s not unmanageable.” Fairy Godmother was happy with her words and looked behind her for oncoming traffic. 

“Yeah, like it was planned.” Mal blurted out before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened as she silently berated herself. She had been in Auradon for three days and she already couldn’t stop blurting her problems out. She watched with bated breath as the words processed through Fairy Godmother’s brain.

“What did you mean by that?” Fairy Godmother stopped looking over her shoulder at the traffic behind her and studied the girl. She wasn’t one to assume something without the facts, but her mind was beginning to jump to conclusions. 

“Nothing, can we please just get back to campus? I’ve been gone for too long already and the others will start searching.” She wasn’t lying. Her friends were constantly worried about her, especially if she wasn’t where she said she was. It was one of the things she both loved and hated about them. 

“Mal,” Fairy Godmother sighed. She knew it was pointless to try and get any more information out of the closed off girl. “Okay,” She agreed to drop the conversation and pulled out onto the road. Mal leaned her head against the window and stared aimlessly at the passing greenery. “Once we get back onto campus, you can go back to your room. Sometime this week, you will have to come by my office to get the rest of the appointments I’ve scheduled for you.” Fairy Godmother knew that mentioning more visits to the hospital was not the best thing, but she didn’t want to hide anything from the girl.

“More appointments?” Mal asked without real emotion behind her words. Fairy Godmother looked over with sympathetic eyes, but Mal didn’t meet her eyes.

“Yeah, they will need to closely monitor you. They don’t know what type of medical history you have.” No one knew the medical means of the Isle. Medical supplies and medication was not sent over to the Isle. 

“Nothing,” Mal spoke up after a minute. 

Fairy Godmother knitted her eyebrows together. “Nothing?” She questioned. 

“I’ve never received medical attention for anything.” Even on her most painful days, Mal hadn’t received proper treatment. No one on the Isle knew any extensive medical knowledge. 

“Oh, okay,” Fairy Godmother hadn’t known what to say after that. She let the thoughts swirl in her mind. “Should I know about anything that should’ve required medical attention?” She had asked after a moment. “Sicknesses or injuries,” she asked as they pulled onto campus.

“No, I handled everything that happened.” Mal didn’t give any more information on the matter. She hadn’t seen a big deal with any of her injuries in the past. She was well aware of the injuries that had taken forever to fully heal, but she hadn’t died. 

“Very well, maybe we should do a complete scan, just to be sure?” Fairy Godmother wanted to ask the opinion of the other girl. She had already put the girl through enough for the moment. 

“No, I’m fine.” Mal wished that she could escape the conversation and hide away forever. “May I head to the dorms now?” Mal wasn’t rude when she asked. She was actually quite polite.

“Of course, dear, just find me in a few days. I’ll see you tomorrow for class.” Fairy Godmother bid Mal a goodbye and drove off to her quarters. Mal waited until the taillights disappeared completely before going into the building. It must have been the end of the last class of the day when she arrived because within seconds the hallway was flocked with people. Mal shook her head and headed to her dorm. She just needed a second to compose herself.

“What are you going to do?” Mal whispered to her reflection. She looked down at her flat stomach and gently placed a hand on her stomach. “Why me?” It was the question that ran through her mind ever since that faithful night. She had thought it was the worst night of her life, but she was currently living a nightmare. 

“Are you in here, Mal?” Evie’s voice broke through the silence. Mal wiped the tears off her cheeks and hardened her face. 

“Just a minute,” Mal called out and turned on the sink faucet to pretend she was only using the bathroom.

“How were the rest of your classes?” Evie flopped down on her bed. “I don’t think my brain is capable of holding that much information.” Evie laughed. It was the first time that Mal had seen Evie carefree since they arrived. Mal smiled at her friend before she adverted her gaze. 

“I didn’t go to my last class.” Mal knew that telling Evie about Fairy Godmother and the tests would cause problems for Lonnie, but she didn’t care. She had promised no more secrets between them. 

“Mal, you can’t just skip.” Evie reprimanded. She didn’t know the consequences of breaking the rules here and that terrified her. 

“I actually was excused.” Mal blew out a breath before she continued. “Fairy Godmother knows about my situation.” Mal whispered. Evie gasped and covered her mouth with her right hand.

“Mal…” Evie didn’t know what to say. “Did the girl from earlier go to here?” Evie felt her blood boil. She couldn’t believe it. On the Isle, if someone went to another person to rat, there were dire consequences. Mal nodded and played with a string on her sleeve.

“She took me for some tests at the hospital. She mentioned some of the results, but Evie what am I supposed to do?” Mal was lost. Fairy Godmother had told her she wasn’t going back to the Isle, but adults’ words were often lies. 

“Let’s just see how this plays out,” it was the only thing Evie could say. She knew Mal hated not having complete control over every aspect of her life. “What do you want to do about Lonnie?” Evie spat the name out of her mouth. 

“I’ll handle her.” Mal had no idea what she wanted to do about the girl in question, but she didn’t need Evie to confront the girl.

“What time is dinner?” Evie decided to change the subject. She wanted to know how long she had before she had to think of an excuse not to eat. She had eaten too many calories in two days than she normally did in a week. She could feel the pounds settling on her hips and thighs. 

“Six, I think” Mal squinted at the clock. It was only four and she was already done with the day. “I don’t want to go.” Mal confessed. She didn’t want to deal with the eyes. By now, the news of her secret was probably plastered all over school.

“Let’s skip.” Evie offered an out. It would solve both of their problems but Mal just raised an eyebrow. She knew that Evie was only trying to get out of eating.

“E, we talked about this.” Mal sighed. She wasn’t going to let Evie collapse on her again. 

“I know, I know,” Evie raised her hands in mock surrender but her eyes still fell. “Let’s just get it and take it back here?” Evie knew that if she was in her own room, she could hide food and use the bathroom right after. 

“Okay,” Mal thought about the offer for a moment. She didn’t want to be surrounded by anyone right now. The sudden knock on their door startled the girls.

“Were you expecting anyone?” Evie asked Mal. The latter shook her head. Jay and Carlos would’ve announced their presences after the knock. The knocking became more frantic as the girls thought about whether or not they were going to answer.

“Hold on,” Mal yelled when the knocking started to give her a headache. “Ben?” Mal had never seen the boy so distraught. 

“When you were in the infirmary the other day, I took you, didn’t I?” Ben didn’t wait for the door to completely open before he slipped passed Mal and started to pace the room. 

“Ben, why are you so wet?” Evie questioned. The boy’s hair was dripping onto the carpet in the room. 

“You were holding something, weren’t you?” Ben didn’t wait for the answer before he continued. “Mal, was it a pregnancy test?” Mal felt her world spin. In less than twenty-four hours, her world had been turned upside down and everyone knew.


	15. Chapter 15

“Mal!” Evie shouted as she caught the purple haired girl before she fell to the ground. Evie gently lowered Mal to the ground and began to check for obvious causes for her unconsciousness. She was sure it was only caused by an emotion overload, but it didn’t stop her from checking. Ben was too shocked to move from his spot in the middle of the room. He didn’t know what he was going to accomplish by barging in the room with no plan. He shook his shock out of his head and bent down to the floor.

“How can I help?” He knew basic first aid but he didn’t know how to handle this. All of his training seemed to slip his mind as he fumbled his hand to try and find a pulse. 

“Stop touching her,” Evie said through gritted teeth. She was fiercely protective of her friends and she could only view Ben as a threat right then. “You can just leave.” Evie pointed at the door and then looked back down to Mal. She had gathered Mal’s head into her lap and was lightly patting the girl’s face. She could see her chest move with each breath, so she ruled out the worst case scenario. 

Ben looked between the girl on the floor and the door. He didn’t know if it would be better in the long run to walk out of the door or stay and help. He knew that it was his fault and the guilt of something serious happening to her ate his insides. “I’m not leaving.” Ben told Evie. “I’m going to help. She didn’t hit her head on anything and you caught her before her back was hit, so let’s move her to the bed.” Ben sprang into action. He picked up Mal with ease and walked over to one of the beds in the room. “Has she eaten today?” Ben wondered aloud. He couldn’t help but grow concerned by how light her body was and the bones he could easily feel under her clothes. 

“A little lunch,” Evie thought back. “Wait, no, she didn’t really get the chance.” Evie remembered the run in with Lonnie. “She actually got sick before she had the chance to eat.” Evie bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how much the boy knew about their day and she certainly wasn’t going to face the wrath of Mal if she slipped up. 

“Okay,” Ben lowered herself to the bed beside the girl. He was growing more concerned every second she lay unconscious.

“No!” Evie yelled at Ben. It was still an unspoken agreement to allow Mal a space untouched by everyone. “You can’t sit there.”

“I’m not going to hurt her.” Ben put his hands up in surrender but stayed sitting on the bed. Evie feared what would happen if Mal woke up to see Ben right next to her in a vulnerable position.

“No, you don’t understand. You need to get up.” Evie began to panic when Mal started to twitch. Her words weren’t working so she decided to force Ben off the bed. “I said get away!” Evie grabbed Ben’s right arm and jerked him off the bed. He stumbled slightly but caught his balance on the table. He furrowed his eyebrows and forced his anger down. 

“What was that for?” Ben nearly yelled at Evie. He didn’t know why she attacked him when he was only trying to help.

“I told you to get up.” Evie shrugged in annoyance. “You weren’t moving, so I moved you myself.” Evie stated the obvious with an eye roll.

“I wasn’t going to hurt her. I was only making sure she was okay.” Ben glared at Evie. He didn’t mean to get angry, but how could he not? He was nearly thrown across the room for helping someone. 

“That’s Mal’s space,” Evie didn’t lower her eyes from him. She wasn’t going to bow down in submission just because he was the prince. 

“That’s enough,” Mal was slightly worried Evie would say something about why Mal needed her own space. Ben and Evie snapped their eyes to Mal’s own glowing ones. “I think you should leave, Ben.” Mal demanded. She wasn’t about to sit here and be lectured from him. He didn’t know anything about her life.

“You need to eat something.” Ben ignored Mal’s demands. He wasn’t going to give up easily. 

“I’ll eat later, you need to leave.” Mal tried again. She wasn’t used to defiance from anyone. 

“No, you need to eat.” Ben didn’t use his authoritative voice often, but it was hardly challenged. Mal rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Go,” Mal hissed. She wasn’t going to let someone control her, not in her own domain. She secretly hoped that Ben would forget the real reason he came in here but when his eyes moved from her own eyes to her stomach, she knew she wasn’t going to be so lucky.

“No, you need to eat. You are eating for two now, aren’t you?” Ben’s words were harsh, but it still felt like a punch in the gut. Ben watched Mal and Evie exchange glances and he knew he was right. “Look, if you aren’t going to go down to the cafeteria, at least let me call to have some trays delivered here.” Ben compromised. He was getting nowhere arguing. 

“Fine,” Mal settled back against her pillows. The weight of the day was weighing heavily on her shoulders. She watched as Ben took out his mobile. 

“Anything in particular?” Ben questioned before he pressed the call button. Mal and Evie shook their heads and looked at each other again. Each girl couldn’t help but wonder if the food was actually going to be edible. On the Isle, no one ever offered food unless it was extremely rotten or poisoned. Ben nodded and dialed a number. “Yeah, I’m okay,” Ben smiled at the voice on the phone. “I was actually hoping to get dinner sent up to Mal and Evie’s room. Yeah, they are okay, too. Yeah just three trays. Thank you, I’ll see you in a minute.” Ben hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket. “It’ll only be a moment.” He took the time to find a chair at the desk against the opposite wall of the beds. 

“You are not staying here,” Evie told Ben. If he stayed, she would have a harder time getting rid of the calories she was going to pack her body with. 

“I’m not leaving.” Ben leveled his eyes at her. “I think you owe me an explanation.” Ben turned to look at Mal. He was a little angry that she hadn’t told him she was pregnant. The latest revelation changed everything.

“I owe you nothing.” Mal sat straight up once more. She owed the people here in Auradon nothing. She had not done anything ruthless or cruel.

“This changes everything,” Ben ran his fingers through his hair. He had wanted his proclamation to work, but with the secrets, he couldn’t help but feel like it was going to fall apart. 

“What does it change?” Mal could think of a million ways her life had changed in three weeks, but she couldn’t find a single reason that Ben’s life would change. “Last I checked, you were a pregnant teen.” 

“What about the father? I’m not okay with keeping him in the dark about this. It is only fair that he knows.” Ben felt a bit odd taking up for the man who had gotten Mal pregnant. He wasn’t going to lie and say he didn’t feel an attraction to her, but he knew it was pointless to fawn over an already taken girl.

“He gets no say.” Mal gritted her teeth. She should have known the people in Auradon didn’t know true struggle. “You have no idea what you are talking about so just drop it.” Mal refocused her fear into anger. 

“But…” Ben tried to reason but was swiftly cut off by Evie.

“Don’t pretend you know our lives.” Evie’s voice was low but threatening. Ben swallowed his statement and decided to let the matter drop. An awkward silence fell over the three until there was a knock on the door. 

“Uh, there is the food.” Ben shuffled to the door and opened it. “Fairy Godmother,” Ben greeted and helped her with the cart. “I only needed three trays.” Ben chuckled at the amount of food she came up with.

“Well, dear, I wasn’t sure what everyone wanted so I figured a variety would be best.” Fairy Godmother smiled but pointed her words at Mal. “Eat up, young ones.”

“Actually, do you have a minute? I would like to speak to you about a matter.” Ben glanced at Mal from the corner of his eye. 

“What is with you Auradon people and needing everyone to know everything?” Mal rolled her eyes. She had felt betrayed so many times today. “She knows.” Ben’s eyes widened. He had expected Fairy Godmother to inform him on a major development with the kids of the Isle. 

“You knew?” Ben stuttered out. “Why didn’t you come to me?” 

“It was none of your business.” Fairy Godmother told him bluntly. 

“But this changes everything.” Ben spluttered. He couldn’t understand why it was just going to be swept under the rug. 

“It changes nothing.” Fairy Godmother scoffed. “It changes her world, not yours.” She reminded him. Mal wanted to smile at the older lady taking up for her, but she didn’t want to let the lady into her world completely. 

“What about the father? Shouldn’t he know?” Ben was getting angry. Why didn’t they think about the other people in the situation?

“He is of no concern in the situation.” Mal swore she saw Fairy Godmother wink at her. She nodded her gratitude to the woman and then looked back at Ben.

“I just told you that.” Mal spat the words at Ben. She was known on the Isle for lying but that didn’t mean she was questioned for it.

“Okay…” Ben sighed out in defeat. He didn’t know what to say to make the situation any easier to understand. “We’ll need to inform your teachers and the king.” Ben was thinking out loud. 

“No, Ben, this stays between the small group of people that already knows.” Fairy Godmother didn’t want the whole school to continue to have reasons to outcast the group. “I’ll let them know when I deem it necessary.” Fairy Godmother was also selfish in wanting the group to trust her. She knew that each child was hiding a dark past and she wanted to help them work through the issues. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check some paperwork. Ben, I think you can join me.” Fairy Godmother held out her hand for Ben to follow. “Evie, Mal, enjoy,” she smiled at the girls and walked out of the room. She was going to do everything she could to protect the girl from harm.


	16. Chapter 16

Mal couldn’t wait for Friday. Every time she left her room, she felt eyes burning into her skin. She hadn’t heard any rumors circulating about her, but she also wasn’t someone that was in the center of the gossip circle. Ben had avoided the four children of the Isle like a plague and Mal was extremely grateful. 

“Happy Thursday!” Fairy Godmother greeted the group. She was impressed by the knowledge each of the kids possessed. “One more day after today and you’ve completely your first full week!” She motioned to the board and began talking about poison. Mal tuned her voice out and zoned into her sketching. 

“How is art going?” Mal jumped at the sudden voice. She had been so focused on her project in front of her; she didn’t realize the others had left.

“Okay,” Mal was slightly irritated that she was left alone. 

“Mal, are you ready to go over your next couple appointments?” Fairy Godmother brought over a small spiral notebook. Mal shrugged. She was hoping the appointments were forgotten in the mess of things. “You have another ultrasound scheduled in a little over a month. You test results came back from the bloodwork we had done. You are low on nearly all of the levels they tested. You will need weekly bloodwork to make sure the vitamins they’ve prescribed are working.” Fairy Godmother handed Mal a couple bottles of pills. Mal sat them down on the table and looked at them in disgust. 

“I’m not taking anything.” Mal had heard horror stories on the Isle about medication. She knew it was an easy way to poison someone without too much effort. 

“Mal, it’s just some vitamins. It will make the pregnancy run smoothly.” Fairy Godmother reasoned with her. “The next thing we need to know is about vaccines. Can you remember any you may have received on the Isle when you were a child?” Mal looked confused. Didn’t Fairy Godmother realize there was no health care on the Isle?

“Nope, I didn’t get any. None of us did.” Fairy Godmother raised her eyebrows in surprise. Mal focused her attention on the bottles ahead of her and tried to memorize the names. 

“Well, we will need to schedule a time for you each to get them.” Fairy Godmother wasn’t sure how their immune systems were, but she knew that vaccines were used to keep the public safe. Mal nodded and flipped through the small notebook in her hands. “That is for you to keep track of everything,” Fairy Godmother motioned to the small object. 

“Is that all?” Mal didn’t know if her brain could handle any more information. Fairy Godmother nodded and reached out to grab Mal’s hand.

“I am here for you in any way you need.” Fairy Godmother squeezed Mal’s hands before she retracted her hand. “I’ll keep you updated on future appointments and results but you need to keep me updated on how you are feeling.”

Mal rolled her eyes. She was surely not going to let someone know when she was feeling weak. She was strong enough to handle everything life threw at her now and this wasn’t going to be any different. “Okay.” Mal didn’t see a point in showing out right insubordination.

“You can go to your next class.” Fairy Godmother dismissed the girl. She knew that Mal was most likely going to ignore all instructions given to her, but that didn’t stop her from trying. She wasn’t going to turn away from the group. 

Mal nearly sprinted down the hallway. She didn’t want to be late to her next class, but after her chat with Fairy Godmother, she wasn’t sure if it was possible. Mal nearly lost balance when she ran into a shoulder. “Seriously?” Mal yelled. She wasn’t paying attention to her path, but neither was the person she ran into.

“Well if you would watch where you were going, we wouldn’t have had this problem.” Mal recognized the girl but couldn’t remember her name. “Does the cat have your tongue?” She mocked. 

“Oh, no, I’m just trying to figure out why someone like you is talking to me? Shouldn’t you be off curtsying or talking to the deer?” Mal sneered. She didn’t have time to deal with this, but she wasn’t one to back down from any type of fight.

“You think you are so perfect, but you aren’t.” The girl tried to get under Mal’s skin, but Mal had heard far worse from her mother on a good day. “Newsflash, no one wants you here. You are just a charity case.” 

Mal rolled her eyes. She knew the whole point of the program was to make Ben feel better about his family’s actions. “Is that the best you can do?” Mal rolled her eyes and started to examine her nails in faux boredom. Mal could see the girl fume out of the corner of her eye. 

“Audrey, is this villain bothering you?” Mal felt her eyes roll for the umpteenth time. She looked over to see a prissy looking boy walk towards them. “Did you hurt her?” He demanded to know. 

“Yes, I totally did.” Mal let the sarcasm drip off her tongue. “Can’t you see the blood?” If Mal wasn’t staring at the new addition to the group, she would have missed him baring his teeth at her. 

“I was just reminding her how worthless she was, Chad. She thinks she can come here and run everything, but they’ll lock her away in the Isle soon.” Audrey smirked in a way that made Mal’s blood boil. 

“Or maybe they’ll throw you over.” Mal mirrored the smirk on Audrey’s face. Audrey gasped and covered her mouth but Mal wasn’t done. “You wouldn’t last an hour. They would have your head, literally.” 

“Is that a threat?” Chad was trying to get Mal to slip up.

“No, it’s simply a warning about what the Isle is like.” Mal shrugged. She didn’t have time to deal with this. She needed to get to class. “Now, I need to go.” Mal walked with her head held as high as it would go leaving the two teens shocked behind her. Once she was out of sight of the two, she released a breath. 

Mal thought the day was never going to end. She didn’t feel the greatest the entire day, but it was getting worse every minute. She didn’t want to let anyone know. She was certain it would pass. Mal caught Ben staring at her a couple of times during the day, but he didn’t say anything. She was relieved that she didn’t have to deal with him on top of not feeling herself. She felt the blood drain in her face when she felt her stomach flip and rushed to the bathroom. 

“Woah,” Mal heard someone say but she was in a rush to the toilet. She threw open a stall door and emptied her stomach in the toilet. Once she was finished dry heaving, she took a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth. “Are you okay?” 

Mal’s eyes immediately widened when she finally registered the voice. “Ben, what are you doing in the women’s room?” Mal was furious. He had seen her at a weak point and that irritated her to no end.

“Actually, Mal, this is the men’s room.” Ben gestured to the urinal on the other wall. Mal spluttered out nonsense and looked around the room for any sign someone else was there. “It’s just you and me.” Ben shrugged sensing her discomfort. “Are you okay?” Ben’s eyes shined with only concern. It was true he had been avoiding the villain kids for the last couple of days, but it didn’t mean he didn’t care. He just didn’t know how to process the news. 

“Just peachy,” Mal meant to sound sarcastic, but she couldn’t force it. She was tired and her stomach muscles ached from exertion. 

“You don’t sound so sure,” Ben tried to make light of the situation. He felt his heart hurt empathetically for the girl in front of him. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much about the pregnancy but he blamed it on feeling bad for the other parent.

“I’m just tired.” Mal didn’t lie. She just didn’t tell the entire truth. “I also need to get out of this room before someone sees.” Mal’s eyes flickered to the door. She couldn’t lay low if she was caught in the wrong bathroom.

“Come on,” Ben grabbed Mal’s hand and tugged her to the door. He was too busy peering out into the hallway to notice the look of surprise on Mal’s face, but he didn’t miss her tense at the contact. “The coast is clear. Let’s get you out of here and to Fairy Godmother.” Ben didn’t let go of her hand once they left the bathroom much to Mal’s discontent. 

“I’m not going to see her. I need to get to class.” At the rate Mal was going, she was sure she wasn’t going to pass any of her classes. In less than a week, she had missed more of her classes than she went to and while she didn’t care, she wasn’t sure it was good for her argument of staying.

“You just got sick. I’m taking you to Fairy Godmother. With the…you know,” Ben cleared his throat. He didn’t want to say it.

“Pregnancy?” Mal questioned as she ripped her hand out of his. She could practically feel the discomfort on his face. “I’m fine.” She told him through gritted teeth. 

“Yeah, that,” Ben rubbed the back of his head. He wasn’t sure what to say. He had spent the majority of the time putting his foot in his mouth when he talked to any of the four. “I don’t really know what is normal and what is not.” Ben was slightly embarrassed to admit. He had already gone through sex education, but he wasn’t sure if it was still the same for someone who had less than adequate care in the past. 

“I’m not a china doll. I can handle this, thank you.” Mal didn’t want to be treated as fragile. It was part of the reason she hid out for so long. 

“No, but you are a person who is not in the best condition right now.” Ben tried to argue but he knew he had said the wrong thing the second her eyes turned green. “It would make me feel better.” Ben tried again. 

“Oh, so this is all about making yourself better? I don’t need or want your pity. I’ve handled a lot worse on the Isle, I can handle this by myself.” Mal sneered. She knew the people in Auradon were self-centered, but she couldn’t take being a constant charity case. 

“Mal, this is what it is.” Ben knew he should shut up, but he felt like he needed to defend his actions. Mal raised an eyebrow at him. “I just want to make sure you are alright.” He tried to backtrack but the damage was already done. He had watched her walls go up and he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make this right. He sighed and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, if you’re sure…” He trailed off and hoped she would stop him but she just nodded instead. “Have a good day.” He turned around and started to walk away when he heard something falling into the lockers. “Mal!” He exclaimed and ran the short distance to help the pale girl.

Mal knew that she should’ve asked for help, but she was so determined to not show any more weakness. She needed to get Ben away from her before she felt even worse. Her palms grew sweaty and a chill spread through her body. She sighed in relief when he turned and started down the corridor but the second she tried to take a step, her head spun and she lost her footing. She winced in slight pain when her shoulder connected with the lockers. She felt Ben’s arms holding her up, but she couldn’t think straight. The room was spinning too fast for her to focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize. I had meant to update this yesterday, but I decided on a trip to see the Tonight Show. I'm going to try to update again tomorrow. Have a good day!


	17. Chapter 17

Ben wasn’t sure what to do. He knew that she needed help but his mind froze for a second. “Mal, I’m going to take you to Fairy Godmother.” He made up his mind. Mal shook her head but it only made her sway more in his arms. “Do you think you can walk?” He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, but he wanted to make sure she was safe. Mal bit her lip. She didn’t want help but she wasn’t sure if she could walk anywhere. All she wanted to do was lay down. Ben saw her hesitation and scooped her up in one swoop. 

Mal tried to protest but it was pointless. Her head felt like it was spinning around without her body. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her unwell feeling at bay. She didn’t remember much of the walk to see Fairy Godmother but it felt like hours before Ben stopped walking and jostling her. She heard him knock but she couldn’t be bothered to open her eyes. 

“My dear! What happened?” Fairy Godmother ushered the two teens in the door and went in a flurry to remove some of the pillows on the couch in her office. “Is she conscious?” She asked Ben when Mal didn’t open her eyes through the entire process. 

“Yes,” Mal grumbled from her spot on the couch. She wished she had more control over the situation, but it was a losing battle. 

“She got sick in the bathroom.” Ben grimaced as he remembered the sound of her retching into the bathroom. “When I turned around to leave, I heard her fall into the lockers.” Ben was relatively calm on the outside. He was brought up to handle any situation without breaking his façade. 

“What are you feeling?” Fairy Godmother was mindful of her words. She wasn’t sure if the girl was hurt or sick. 

“I’m dizzy,” Mal continued to talk without opening her eyes. She felt the room spinning from beneath her and she didn’t want to see it. “I’ll be okay. I just want to sleep.” She was afraid the older lady would mention a trip to the hospital but she didn’t feel it was necessary. She had already been such a bother to everyone; she didn’t want more reason to have to pay them back.

“How long have you been feeling off?” Fairy Godmother was worried about the way Mal’s face was pale. 

“Just since this morning,” Mal spoke quietly. The longer she had her eyes closed, the closer she was to sleep. “I think a little sleep would help.” Mal was determined to just sleep this off. 

“Do you have any other symptoms?” Fairy Godmother eyed Mal warily. She thought she had made some headway with Mal, but it turns out, she was still at square one. She was extremely worried about the purple haired girl and she didn’t know how to help. 

“No,” Mal was completely honest this time. She didn’t see a point in lying. 

“Okay, I’m going to call the help line and see what is best for you.” Fairy Godmother pulled out her phone and walked away from the two teens. She didn’t want to give Mal false hope about being about to just sleep it off before she got some advice.

Mal could hear Fairy Godmother’s muffled voice. She wasn’t fond of being discussed without her knowing every word, but her head was still spinning. She opened up one eye to see her surroundings. Fairy Godmother was over in the farthest corner from her, talking on the phone. Ben was pacing back and forth by the couch. “Will you stop? You’re making me dizzier.” Mal tried to joke as she opened both eyes. She wasn’t trying to lighten the mood for Ben or Fairy Godmother. She needed to divert the attention on something other than her. 

“Sorry,” Ben flopped down on the other chair in the room. He was too worried about Mal to sense the slight tease in her voice. His face fell into his hands and he sighed in defeat. “Are you feeling any better?” He looked over to study Mal’s face. She still looked extremely pale and her eyes were still glossy.

“If I say yes, can I leave?” Mal knew it was a long shot, but she figured if she joked enough, they would this she was well enough to be on her own. 

Ben looked at her with more concern. “Mal…” He was completely out of his element and he wasn’t sure how to help. 

“I just got off the phone with the doctor. She thinks it is just the typical morning sickness mixed with the increase in hormones which makes you dizzy. She does suggest sleeping it off. With you case, though, having excessive morning sickness is more dangerous because of your malnourishment. I need to know whenever you get sick.” Fairy Godmother told Mal sternly. 

Mal wanted to roll her eyes, but she sensed that any defiance would lead to more supervision. “Yeah,” She complied. “Can I go back to my room now?” She could see the worry sketched on the faces of the others in the room. “I just think a bed would be better to rest on than this couch.” She tried again.

“I think someone should stay with you.” Fairy Godmother eyed Mal warily. She didn’t want to let the girl out of her sight, but she didn’t want to be over barring. 

“I completely agree.” Ben said hastily. He hoped that Mal would agree for him to be the person to stay with her. He had many questions and he thought this was one chance to ask. 

“Evie will be there.” Mal tried to get her point across that she was fine. She wasn’t exactly sure where Evie was at the moment and she wasn’t going to ask for help, but she needed to have an excuse. 

“Evie has her extracurricular today.” Ben pointed out. “I can stay with you.” He took a chance. 

“That’s a wonderful idea, Ben!” Fairy Godmother smiled in relief. She knew that if Ben was with Mal, she would get constant updates. “It’s settled then. Mal, you and Ben can head back to your room. I’m going to have dinner brought to you. Remember you need to eat as much as you can.” She lectured Mal again. 

“Whatever,” Mal rolled her eyes at this. She hated that she couldn’t just be left alone. “Can we just go?” She was getting impatient. 

“Do you think you can walk?” Ben asked. He wasn’t sure how much energy Mal had in her. “Okay, well let’s go.” Ben clapped his hands together and stood up once Mal nodded. He held out a hand for her to take, but she didn’t take it. She hoisted herself off the couch and took a second to steady herself. 

Mal made sure the walk back to the dorm was silent. She didn’t want to make small talk. She just wanted to sleep until tomorrow. She hated the fact she wasn’t allowed to be on her own. She had been on her own for as long as she could remember. “Thanks for walking me.” She turned to Ben once they had reached her dorm. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned to the door and opened it just enough to slip her body into the room. 

“Not so fast, I’m supposed to stay with you.” Ben put his hand on the door to stop it from closing all the way. He caught the tail end of Mal’s eye roll. “Besides, how am I supposed to show off my impressive gaming skills if you won’t let me in?” He tried to charm Mal. 

Mal looked at him in disgust. She didn’t know if he was trying to flirt with her, but she didn’t like it. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go to sleep. See, I’m tired already,” She yawned to emphasize her point. 

“I promised Fairy Godmother I would stay with you.” Ben shrugged his shoulders and squeezed through the door. “It’s a bit dark.” He looked around the room and noticed all the curtains drawn. 

“The sun doesn’t shine on the Isle.” It was Mal’s turn to shrug. She thought it was obvious to everyone the differences between Auradon and the Isle. “I’m just going to go to sleep.” She told him and walked to her bed. She wasn’t fond of sleeping around people she didn’t trust, but she was just exhausted. She wasn’t sure if she could keep her eyes open for much longer anyway. She pulled the covers back from her bed and slid in. 

“I’ll be right her when you wake up.” Ben promised her as she snuggled into the pillows. He wasn’t sure if she was asleep until he heard a light snore nearly thirty minutes after she stopped talking. He smiled at her and pulled out his phone. He sent a text to Fairy Godmother to let her know that Mal was following orders to rest. His head popped up when he heard a scream. He shot out of his seat and rushed to Mal’s side. She was thrashing around violently. He had no idea what to do. He knew that touching her in that state would quite possibly be the worst thing he could do. He called out her name gently. Mal’s eyes popped open and searched the room around her. “Hey, it’s okay.” Ben tried to calm her down. His eyes widened when Mal launched into his arms.


	18. Chapter 18

Ben felt the air knocked out of him the second Mal launched herself at him. Mal grabbed his neck and began squeezing. He noticed the feral look of pure survival in Mal’s eyes. “Mal, it’s just me. It’s just Prince Ben.” He gasped out. He used his title to try to snap her out of her little world. He tried to gently pry her hands off of his neck, but the second his hands touched hers, she tightened her grip even more. He started to frantically push her hands away the second he started to see back spots in his vision. “Mal, please!” He was desperate.

“Mal!” Evie’s voice rang out into the space. She had run straight from her extracurricular to the dorm when she heard about Mal’s incident. She had never been more scared since she left the Isle than she was when she heard Mal had fainted. Now she was scared that Mal would actually kill the prince. She recognized the haziness in Mal’s eyes the second she saw her. She knew that Mal was stuck in a world of fear, but she also knew that the citizens of Auradon wouldn’t care about the trauma Mal was dealing with, they would immediately sentence her to death or worse, the Isle.

“Come on, Mal, you are safe. There is no one here that is actively trying to hurt you. He is not here. He can’t reach you.” Evie flicked her eyes to Ben’s face. She knew that she was going to say too much about the past and the life on the Isle, but she couldn’t take any chances with Ben’s life in danger. She knew that Mal wouldn’t kill Ben in her right mind, not without the order of her mother, but she wasn’t in her right mind. “You are in Auradon far away from the Isle. You don’t have to fight. People aren’t here to poison you. There isn’t a bounty on your head here. No one is trying to use you for revenge against your mother.” She felt her eyes roam over her best friend’s face. “That’s it, Mal, you are safe.” She could see the fear on Mal’s face morph into confusion. 

Ben felt Mal’s hands go slack against his neck. He used this moment to move out from under Mal and backed away as far as his weakened body would let him. He gasped for air and put his hands up to shield his neck in case Mal had plans to continue her assault. His eyes were wide with fear that he didn’t have the energy to conceal.

“Ben, stay still for a second.” Evie could see Mal tense with every movement Ben made. She knew that Mal was still in between what reality was and what fantasy was. 

“But…” Ben whispered. He was trying to comprehend everything that had happened and everything that was said. 

Evie held up her hand to stop him. She knew that he didn’t understand what happened, but she didn’t have time to explain it. “Please, I can explain things in a second,” she lied, “but I need to calm her down. She doesn’t think rationally when she is scared.”

“Mal, come on, look at me.” Evie tried again. Before everything happened, she knew how to calm Mal down, but she wasn’t so sure now. “I’m going to grab your hand.” She figured the best thing to do would be to give step by step instructions to Mal on contact. 

Mal tensed at the sudden touch, but eventually her brain processed what Evie was telling her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and ground herself. She felt the fight leave her body and she slumped into her body. “Evie?” She opened her eyes and focused solely on her best friend in front of her. 

“Hey, pretty girl.” Evie smiled in relief as the last of the haze disappeared from Mal’s eyes. “Let’s get you back into bed, yeah?” She was being too gentle with Mal and she knew that any other time, Mal would be angry, but she needed to defuse the situation completely. She pulled back the covers more and pulled them back over Mal’s body. “There,” she smiled reassuringly, “are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Mal answered automatically. 

“Mal…” Evie trailed off. She knew that Mal didn’t realize Ben was here and she was going to use it to her advantage. “That’s not the truth.”

“I got sick today.” Mal wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell. Evie was her best friend, but she didn’t want to dive into her nightmare she was stuck into. 

“I heard, Mal, you have to be more careful.” Evie tried to scold her, but it came out more fearful. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if she lost her best friend. 

“I know,” Mal bowed her head in shame. “I was stuck in a nightmare.” She closed her eyes again and tried to focus on her breathing. She knew it wasn’t a good time to get sucked back into her thoughts. “Fairy Godmother told me I had to go back and rest. She told Ben…” Her eyes widened when she looked around for Ben. She felt her breath quicken when her eyes landed on him. He had heard everything. 

“Mal, you’re okay,” Evie moved her thumbs on the back of Mal’s hands. She needed to stop the escalade of Mal’s panic attack. 

Mal couldn’t remember what exactly happened after Ben walked her to the door and that scared her more than anything. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Evie came. She tried to take notice of anything that felt off with her body. She didn’t feel pain anywhere. Her body felt rigid, but it didn’t feel any more tainted. She felt the cramping in her fingers and slowly pulled them up to her face. She took note that they were all there and there was no blood streaming out. She heard a frightened squeak that pulled her away from her thoughts. 

Ben knew that Mal wasn’t in her right mind, but that didn’t stop his terror. He couldn’t think about anything other than the phantom feeling of her hands around her neck. He tried to reason with his thoughts that everything was okay. 

“Mal,” Evie could see Mal looking at her hands and back to Ben’s neck. She knew that Mal’s mind was turning in realization of what she had done. “Ben, I need you to tell her you are fine.” She pleaded with Ben. 

“I’m just like her.” Mal started to mumble to herself. “I deserve everything that is going to happen. I deserve everything that has happened. It’s my fault.” She was retreating back into her subconscious. 

“No, you aren’t,” Evie turned to Mal. She turned back to Ben and pleaded with him once more. “Ben, please tell her you are okay. Tell her that she is okay. I need your help.” She didn’t like relying on other people, but she knew that he was making things worse and she couldn’t risk what would happen if she kicked him out. 

“I…I…” Ben’s voice was raspy from the assault on him. “I’m okay.” He said weakly. He tried to gather all the strength he had left in him, but he couldn’t help the fear still present in his eyes. 

“See, Mal, he is okay.” Evie sighed out in relief and continued saying words of encouragement. Once Mal’s breathing evened out and her eyes refocused, she couldn’t help but smile. She helped Mal settle back into the pillows. She could tell Mal was completely exhausted from the day and all the events that happened. “That’s it, sleep now and we can talk about everything once you wake up.” 

“No, don’t leave me.” Mal whimpered in fear. She felt the bed shift in response to Evie standing up.

“I’m not going anywhere; I’m just going to change.” Evie knew Mal wouldn’t question her about clothing and thanked her lucky stars when Mal closed her eyes again and nodded into the pillows. 

“Ben, I need you to get up.” Evie whispered to the frightened prince. 

Ben nodded and slowly stood up with his eyes trained on Mal’s figure. The last time she was sleeping around him, he was almost strangled to death. 

“I guess you are wondering what that was.” Evie went straight to the point. She wasn’t interested in small talk and she knew the prince to be very stubborn. 

“Yeah, one minute she was sleeping and the next minute she was choking me. I tried to get her to stop but she looked like a…” Ben’s eyes shifted to the ground in shame. He never meant to compare Mal to the villains on the Isle. Mal gave no indication of being completely evil for the sake of being evil. 

“It’s a side effect from the Isle. Many of us are plagued with nightmares. I’m not sure which thoughts caused her mind to be captured, but it could’ve been many things.” Evie felt uncomfortable talking about her best friend’s past, but she couldn’t avoid the topic. “Her mother was a very bad person. She had more enemies that anyone could count. Mal was frequently a pawn in the games between Maleficent and her enemies.” She spoke slowly and vaguely. She would never reveal the details with Mal’s permission, but she needed to give him something. 

“You kept mentioning a he. Who was he?” Ben found his voice. His mind wondered to his worst thoughts about what a villain would do but he wasn’t sure if it was the worst thing that could happen. 

Evie tensed. “I don’t know.” She glanced at Mal’s sleeping form. “She never told me.” She could see the disbelief in Ben’s eyes, but Mal had never revealed who had hurt her. “She didn’t willingly get pregnant.” She whispered and hoped that Ben hadn’t caught the last bit of information, but the gasp coming from Ben, she knew that it was too late.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am so sorry about the wait. Life got hectic with everything happening. I just want to let you guys know that I do read the reviews. Reading the reviews give me motivation to finish the next chapter. Thank you again for reading! Enjoy!

Ben couldn’t just pretend that he didn’t hear Evie that night. She didn’t willingly get pregnant. He shuddered as Evie’s voice kept repeating over and over in his head. He didn’t wait for any explanations that night. He ran out of the room like a coward, but he didn’t care. His mind was racing and he needed to throw up or punch something. 

“Hey, Ben!” Doug was beaming in pride. “You’ll never guess who called!” 

“Doug, I can’t talk right now.” Ben didn’t look at Doug. He knew that Doug had gotten a spot in the engineering internship, but he couldn’t think about anything except the other the new information. 

“You look flushed. Are you sick?” Doug stopped bouncing to look at Ben. 

Ben knew that his face was pale and his eyes were glassy. He would guess his appearance was not far off from looking like he had seen a murder but he couldn’t think about himself at that moment. Logically, he knew what Evie meant, but he couldn’t bring himself to think it. His mind played her voice light a broken record, but he wouldn’t let his mind wander to the word he was so desperately hoping was a sick joke. He knew life on the Isle was messed up beyond his comprehension, but he would’ve never guessed this.

“Fine,” Ben mumbled out and started to walk back to his dorm. He could feel his stomach turning and he wasn’t a fan of making a scene in the hallway. 

“Ben, wait up!” Doug was persistent. It was in his genes to take care of other people, especially royals if his father’s story was anything to go by. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost steal your favorite book.” He tried to make a joke for Ben’s sake. 

Ben looked at Doug slightly annoyed. His brain was trying to process the news without fully processing anything. He wanted to be alone and Doug was not getting the hint. “Doug, can you please just leave me alone?” 

“Okay,” Doug held his hands up at Ben’s tone. “I get it.”

Ben ran a hand through his hair. He hadn’t meant to snap at Doug, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t have the energy to apologize; he just nodded his head and turned on his heel again. He didn’t stop to look over his shoulder at his friend. 

He couldn’t remember the walk to the dorm. He threw open the door and dashed to the toilet. He emptied his stomach and then fell back against the tub and focused on a spot on the wall. His mind was somehow racing and blank at the same time.

He couldn’t remember how long he sat staring at the wall, but he jumped when he heard a knock at the door. He moved in slow motion to the door. He fumbled with the doorknob for a second before his brain caught up with his hand. 

“Look, I’m not up for…” The words died on his tongue when he saw the pleading eyes of Evie on the other side of the door.

“Can we talk, please?” Evie had only ever begged a handful of times in her life but this was about her best friend. 

“I don’t…I…Evie…” Ben was falling over his words. His brain was short circuiting but he couldn’t figure out what he needed to say. He dropped his head with a sigh and moved back into the room. He gestured with his arm for Evie to walk into the room. He looked around in the hallway before he shut the door. 

“I want to apologize for Mal earlier.” Evie started diplomatically. She was raised to be polite in the face of royalty until given a reason or until her plan was executed. She had nothing up her sleeve but her own selfish gain for Mal not finding out Ben knew what happened on the Isle. 

“You do not have to apologize for someone else’s actions. What Mal did,” He stopped and shuddered. He had to touch his neck to make sure Mal’s hands weren’t on him. “What Mal did is on her, not on you.” He wasn’t angry at Mal, a little scared at her behavior, but he wasn’t angry. 

“You have to understand that she isn’t in her right mind right now.” Evie’s eyes glossed over. 

Ben could see her struggling with her thoughts. “I don’t know what happened,” he swallowed hard at his denial. He knew what happened; he just couldn’t bring his mind or mouth to utter the word. 

Evie looked at him with her right eyebrow raised. “Ben, you know what happened. I watched you run out of the room, remember?”

Ben grimaced at the reminder of his hastily exit. He was going to be king and he couldn’t hold his composure for more than a moment. “I’m wrong.” He shook his head in denial. 

“Ben, you know you are right.” Evie’s voice was gentle but she was pleading again. She was pleading to not have to say the truth. 

“No, that only happens in horror stories.” Ben was shaking his head vigorously again. “It only happens in stories.” 

“Ben, all of the villains was placed together on an Isle. There wasn’t contact with the outside world. There were power struggles. It is no uncommon on the Isle. Everyone over there can name multiple people that have gone through that.” Evie was trying to be as vague as possible, but the truth was, she was desperate to help Mal. Her best friend had a lifetime of struggles and this should’ve never been one. 

“That can’t be,” Ben was hoping and wishing Evie would say she was joking. He wanted this to be a prank. “Please tell me you are joking.”

“I can’t do that.” Evie whispered. She had tried meeting his eyes, but he wasn’t looking up from his hands. 

“Mal is stubborn. She is so stubborn.” Evie laughed tearfully. “When she was seven, there was a shipment from Auradon that rumored to have paints on it. She always has been an artist. She begged Maleficent to let her leave the castle to go to the barges. She was being punished for some reason and she wasn’t allowed to leave nor eat. She climbed through the window that night just so she could get some paints. She managed to get them and hide them in our hideout and far enough away that Maleficent wouldn’t know where the hideout was before she was caught. We didn’t see her for a while after that, but when we did, she said it was worth everything.” 

“What happened while she was gone?” Ben let his mind wander to all of the horrible things he could think about. 

“She never said. She was always private about what happened behind the walls of the castle. I know that she has more scars than you could count. I know that I don’t know the true color of her skin on her torso is because of the bruises. I know that she believes everything that happened to her was her fault.” Evie never could wrap her head around the thoughts that ran through her best friend’s head.

“That’s preposterous!” Ben was getting angry again. He flew to his feet and started to pace around. He couldn’t wrap his mind around harming a seven year old. He couldn’t wrap his mind around believing that anyone would deserve the pain. “No one deserves that.”

Evie flinched at Ben’s sudden anger. “Please calm down.” Her voice was calm, but her mind was panicking. She knew that dangerous things happened to girls when guys were angry. 

Ben looked at Evie for the first time since she came in the room. If he hadn’t stared at her frame as hard as he did, he would’ve missed the tremor in her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“I came here because I need you to do me a favor.” Evie spoke confidently again. “Mal can’t know that you know what happened. She went missing for a while after. No one knew where she went. No one knew if she was still alive. If she finds out you know, I’m afraid that she’ll disappear again.” She had never spoken her fear out loud, but she didn’t want to find out what would happen. 

“I can’t just pretend I don’t know, Evie. Gods, I have been such a jerk to her. I judged her for not telling the father. I argued with her!” Ben growled. He felt his anger shift from everyone to himself. He was the one he truly hated at that moment. He didn’t want to admit his own problem. 

“I need you to. She needs you to. Look, you need to be as discreet as possible. If she tells you, great, you can ask her questions and coddle her. But it needs to come from her.” Evie felt her calm composure slip. She couldn’t keep arguing with Ben. She hated her mind thinking it would be better if she stayed on the Isle. She knew it was selfish, but the Isle was familiar. She knew her role there. 

“Okay,” Ben sighed out in defeat. He knew it was better in the long run, but he hated he couldn’t do something now. 

“Thank you,” Evie stood up and nodded her head once at Ben. She started to leave but stopped once she heard Ben’s voice calling her.

“Hey, Evie,” Ben’s eyes fought to keep the contact. “Can I at least see her? I need to be able to see her physically breathing. I have this knew scenario in my head about her and I need to see that she is still breathing. I don’t care if she’s sleeping and she doesn’t know. It would only be for a minute.” It was his turn to beg. 

“Follow me back but wait outside the door. I need to make sure she is asleep. You need to be quiet. Her nightmares still take over her body when she’s sleeping, so if one happens, you need to leave immediately. On your own,” Evie pointed her eyes at him. She couldn’t risk Mal finding out this, especially if she ever found about Ben knowing her secret.

“I promise,” Ben held up his hands in surrender. He was going to do whatever was necessary to ease his mind of one fear racing through it. He needed to see Mal breathing with his own eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

Evie lead Ben down the corridor. She chewed on her bottom lip in worry. The fallout of the situation could be detrimental to the dynamic of her friendship with Mal, but she was way in over her head and it was absolutely exhausting trying to pretend she isn’t falling apart on the inside. 

“Evie, can I ask you a question?” Ben’s voice broke through the silence. 

Evie raised an eyebrow at him, but she didn’t give him an answer. She wasn’t sure if she could answer the question he had and she didn’t want to give him false hope. 

“How are you?” Ben glanced over at her. 

Evie’s steps stuttered in confusion. Did he not realize that there was a major issue on their hands? “I’m fine. This situation has nothing to do with me.” She was curt with her answer, but she was annoyed that any bit of focus was off of Mal. 

“You have been dealing with this just as much as Mal has. You are trying to keep your best friend together at the sake of your own mental health. It is okay not to be okay.” Ben tried to smile reassuringly at her, but it was more of a grimace. 

“You don’t get it, do you?” Evie felt her composure crack even more. She didn’t want to completely lose her self-control, but she could feel everything slip. “We don’t GET to be anything other than okay. Mal has had her entire life ruined. She lost her fire. She lost her sense of control. She believes that everything that has happened has been her fault. She is tormented even in her dreams. She is keeping everything bottled up like normal and it will eventually explode.” She was screaming by the end of her speech, but she couldn’t focus on anything but her frustrations.

“You mean she’ll lose control like you are now?” Ben pointed out without being judgmental. “Evie, there is nothing wrong asking for support. Mal is going through a lot right now, but so are you. I can see the unfocused look you get when you think no one is looking. I can practically feel the tension radiating off of your body. Your teeth are going to tear a hole in your bottom lip.” He had paid attention to the small movements in each of them over the time they had been there. He didn’t put the actions together until this moment. “I’ve seen the way Jay walks stiffly behind Mal. He keeps his muscles flexed in intimidation. He stares down anyone that looks in Mal’s direction. Carlos is a little harder to read. He doesn’t actively intimidate anyone, but I know that he has hacked a few things.”

Evie flicked her eyes at Ben in defense. “You can’t prove that was him.” She was too quick to go on the defense, but she didn’t want to find out what happened if Auradon knew about the hacking.

“The hacking is the least of my concerns right now.” Ben put her worries to ease. “I don’t know the extent of the damage the Isle has left on you all, but I do know that I want you to heal. You can’t do that if you are constantly in fear that something is going to happen. You have my word that the only thing that would get you sent back to the Isle against your wishes is murder.” He had thought about the consequences for the children he brought over. The goal in the end was to integrate them into Auradon completely. It wasn’t fair to hold them at a higher standard than the average citizen. 

“The people of Auradon, your own father, thought that the Isle residents didn’t deserve basic items. He thought that all children born to the villains were evil. Every day, Isle citizens fight over scrapes of rotten foods. You’ll have to excuse me thinking that this is anything more than an empty promise.” Evie didn’t want to argue with Ben. She truly had no energy, but she needed him to see his own guilt by association. She had been deemed less than a person because of her mother. 

“I understand, but Evie, I promise you,” Ben hesitated for a moment. He wanted to take her hand in reassurance. He was raised on physical contact when being sincere, but he knew that life was different for Evie and he didn’t want to make it worse. “I will prove it you. Just let me make this right with Mal first. After that you can tell me how I can make you believe in me.”

Evie dropped her shoulders in surrender. “Can we just go to the dorm?” She wasn’t about to stay in one place and continue to hash out everything that she blamed Auradon for, everything that she blamed Ben for.

“Of course,” Ben was nervous again. He couldn’t decide if he wanted Mal to be awake or asleep. He knew it was a coward move to hope she was awake so he didn’t have to taint his vision of her, but he needed to see her. 

“I’m going to go in first. If I don’t open the door for you in three minutes, she is awake and you need to leave.” Evie had her right hand on the doorknob while she was staring down Ben. She was trying to convey the seriousness of the situation. “I mean it. She can’t know anything that happened. I’m pretty sure once tomorrow comes, she won’t remember hurting you. You need to keep that a secret, too.” She was hoping Mal’s mind had shut down in response to the terror. 

“Does that happen a lot?” Ben noticed that Mal didn’t remember multiple moments in time, but he didn’t want to assume anything. 

“Trauma makes compartmentalizing things easier.” Evie shrugged off his question. Each of her friends had moments they couldn’t remember in the past. 

“Three minutes.” She reminded him and gently turned the knob. She was not willing to wake up Mal if she was in a peaceful slumber. 

Evie crept in the room and used the moonlight streaming in the window as a guide. She saw the blanket moving slowly with each breath Mal took. She sighed in relief that any explanations needed would wait until a later time. She slipped off her heels by her bed and moved back to the door to gesture for Ben. 

“She’s asleep. You need to be quick and quiet, can you do that?” She whispered. 

Ben nodded his head in assurance. His stomach tightened in fear of the sleeping figured. It was merely hours before he had been in this room an inch from his life. He had to tell himself that Mal would never intentionally hurt him.

“Can I have a moment?” Ben whispered to Evie. He wanted to let everything off of his chest, but he didn’t want to expose his vulnerability to Evie, too. 

“I’ll just be in the bathroom removing my makeup. I’m leaving the door open. Do not try anything.” Evie had her reservations about leaving Ben with Mal. She honestly didn’t know which one would hurt the other more. 

With one final look at her best friend, Evie tiptoed into the bathroom and started to remove the makeup gently. Her nighttime beauty routine was not something to be altered, so she took her time as much as she could with a sense of urgency. She was halfway through the routine when she heard a scream she had heard every night. 

“What did you do?” Evie was screaming at Ben. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew it was his fault. She knew from the thrashing, Mal was stuck in her flashback, but she was worried. 

“No! Please stop! Patrick!” Mal screamed and bolted up right. 

Evie was frozen in place. She felt her stomach churn with the new information.


	21. Chapter 21

“Mal?” Evie spoke softly into the quiet room. She didn’t approach her friend in fear of making the situation worse and because her mind was in shock over the new information. 

Mal’s wild eyes met Evie’s but she couldn’t focus on anything other than her nightmare. She was frozen in the world just as she had been that night. 

“Come on, you need to breathe.” Evie could see the beginning of a full blown panic attack starting. She walked slowly in Mal’s direction. She had both hands out in front of her to make sure Mal could see them. Her heart broke when she realized all the steps she had to take to not scare the girl in front of her, but she would do it for the rest of her life if it meant Mal would feel safe. 

“I’m going to grab your right hand.” Evie always spoke before she touched Mal. She didn’t want to lose her farther into the haze. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She could feel the tension in the muscles of her friend’s hand and quickly reassured her. She squeezed it gently and brought it to her chest. “Follow my breathing. In and out.” She instructed gently. 

“E?” Mal’s voice was hoarse.

Evie exhaled in relief and felt all the energy leave her body. She flopped down on the bed as graceful as she could. 

“Do you need anything?” Evie put Mal’s needs over her own. It was easier to pretend everything in her life was okay if she focused on someone else. 

“No,” Mal looked down at the blanket. She hated the mess her life had become. 

“Mal, you mentioned something while you were sleeping. I need to know if it’s true.” Evie knew that she was walking herself in dangerous territory but her mind wouldn’t let her forget it. 

Mal looked up slightly frightened at what she would’ve said. “Please.” She shut her eyes to fight off remembering her nightmare. 

“Just this one question and then we can forget about it and do what you want.” Evie compromised. Her mind wouldn’t focus on anything other than the one name. She took a deep breath when Mal nodded. “You said Patrick in your sleep. Patchy’s son? It was him, wasn’t it?” 

Mal’s eyes went wide and she started to hyperventilate. She had purposely left out the name of her attacker because she thought admitting it would mean that she wasn’t forgetting it ever happened. “E, please.” She begged again. 

“Just nod your head.” Evie coaxed again. She knew the answer, but until it was confirmed, her mind could convince her she was wrong. 

Mal took a steadying breath and closed her eyes so she didn’t have to see Evie’s reaction. She was already filled with shame at not being able to stop him. She couldn’t deal with Evie’s look of disgust at her. She nodded her head slightly and hunched over into herself. 

“Mal, look at me please.” Evie wanted to, no, she needed to reassure Mal that everything was safe here. She knew on the Isle, admitting someone had gotten the upper hand meant danger lurking around. She knew that overpowering the daughter of the Mistress of All Evil would cause Mal’s life to be in danger. 

Mal refused to open her eyes. She knew it was more than likely going to cause her to see a flashback in her mind, but she had already dealt with one of the worst things in this world, she never dealt with the disappointment of her best friend. 

“Mal, you are so strong.” Evie knew what Mal had on her mind. She didn’t think of Mal as a disappointment. She wanted to praise her for living through that, getting pregnant as a result, and handling everything with moving to a city that has a vendetta against the kids of the Isle because of their parents. 

“You have proven yourself strong so many times in your life. Do you remember when you got the paints and Maleficent kept you hidden for days? Do you remember sneaking out because Carlos needed some help with his chores and you missed your training to be like Maleficent? Do you remember the time Jafar got so mad at Jay for not stealing something of value and you stole something from your mother so he wouldn’t get a worse beating than he was already going to get? Do you remember all the times you were there for me? All of the food you have given me through the tower window because Evil Queen withheld food from me had been my lifeline. The fabric you have gotten so that I could make clothes was the best part of being on that hellhole of an island.” Evie tried to get Mal out of her own head. She knew a mental collapse in itself would be more detrimental to the situation that was already delicate. 

“I was walking back from the pirate’s territory. I was in my own world. I didn’t hear him. It was too late when my brain caught up with what was happening it was too late. He already had the knife at my neck. I tried to fight him off as best as I could, but it was useless. Every time I tried to twist away, he dug the knife in a little further. He already had me at his mercy but then he mentioned hurting…” Mal stopped. She didn’t want Evie to have any reason to blame herself. It was only her fault. She was distracted in enemy territory. She could’ve fought harder. She should’ve…

Mal’s eyes flew open when she heard a slight shuffling from across the room. Her eyes were wild with fear and her body was shaking when she saw someone else in the room. She turned back to Evie in betrayal. She had just admitted her attacker for the first time since it happened. 

“Mal please let me explain!” Evie could see the wheels turning in her head. She could practically see the mask Mal put on when she was protecting herself. “Do you remember trying to strangle Ben?” She knew there was no way to get her to see anything different once she had her mind made up.

Mal flicked her eyes to Ben in confusion. She really needed to stop compartmentalizing to the point of forgetting moments of time completely. She shook her head. 

“You had a terror and thought that Ben was a threat. You started to choke him. I had to pry you off of him and when you realized what you had done, you thought you were just like Maleficent. After you went back to sleep, I went to find Ben and explain the situation as best I could.” Evie left out the part where she told Ben about the assault. 

“I’m okay.” Ben offered when Mal looked at him in terror. He didn’t want to cause her anymore problems, especially after spending so much time judging her for not telling the father. “I wanted to make sure you are okay.” He didn’t mention hearing anything.

“He’s leaving,” Evie didn’t want to risk Ben slipping up and she couldn’t lie to Mal if she asked. “Aren’t you, Ben?” She pointed the last part at Ben.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t want to leave but he didn’t want to make Mal uncomfortable. “Actually, can I stay for a little bit?” He avoided Evie’s glare and stared in Mal’s eyes. 

“I…” Mal didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want anyone in her face, but if she had choked him, she didn’t want to ruin her chances of staying. 

“Mal, it’s okay. He has an important meeting to get to.” Evie pointed her eyes at the back of Ben’s head. They had an agreement and here he was not following it. 

“She’s right. I have an important thing to discuss with my guards about arresting a Patrick from the Isle.”


End file.
